Incognito
by Narro
Summary: She refused to believe what he said, but apparently he really means it. A Shino x Nika fic. Rated M just to be sure.
1. Chapter 1

Narro: Hello everyone, it's been awhile since I've written or posted anything, but that's because I've just not been in a writing mood. However, this idea/little daydream of mine may be promising.

Kyouya: As Narro's personal assistant (A/N: I wish !) I hereby dictate: Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto-san, not Narro. However, Narro does own Nakamura Nika-kun. All flames will be used to roast BBQ Pork for Chouji-kun. Enjoy.

Narro: I should give you a raise, Kyouya-kun.

Kyouya: bows

Incognito

"Aaaah….." happily groaned Nakamura Nika, putting down her rice bowl gently onto the heavily polished wood table before her stretched out figure, "I love this feeling," she grinned a soft and satisfied grin at the cook from over the other matron's heads in the little food café. Her dark, afro-haired companion said nothing, only continued eating his vegetable salad quietly. Nika dismissed this easily, being far too used to it to care anymore. Their waitress smiled in pleasure at Nika's delight.

"Everything is fine, yes?" she questioned unnecessarily. Nika nodded. The buxom woman smiled again expectantly. Nika's amber eyes flicked over to her companion again.

"Hm…is it my turn or yours?" the question rolled off the kunoichi's tongue lazily. The waitress became nervous, eyes flicking back and forth between the two shinobi.

"Yours," simply put Aburame Shino, her comrade. Nika pulled out a few bills of Ryou, the currency of their world, and handed it to their waitress. Happily, she left them be. Having finished their meal, they got up and exited the small café, the welcome feeling of a job well done comfortable on their shoulders. Shino led the way, but not really because Nika couldn't stand not being in the lead, so they commenced with their dance of dominance on the road out of the village. Shino paused.

"Hm?"

"Eh?" cracked out Nika, nearly bumping into the Aburame. Shino's shades glinted off the sun's rays in a way that would make any movie star jealous, as he turned around to wait for a man who was running toward them. "Ah, our ex-client," she remarked, and she too waited for him to catch up.

The man was in his middle years, and not in very good shape; he panted and heaved as he finally reached them, sweat trickling down his temples, but he was smiling quite pleasantly.

"I'm sorry, Aburame-san, Nakamura-san, but I just wanted to thank you again for your work. Impressive!" the man gestured with his hands at a hay wagon, holding two men bound and gagged, glaring with all their might at Nika and Shino. Nika grinned, flashing her fangs at them. They quickly looked away.

"You're welcome," Shino pushed his glasses up higher on the bridge of his nose with his fingers gently. Nika's ears twitched towards Shino, fascinated with how such a simple gesture spoke many words. The elder man in turn, watched with a look of interest at her lioness's ears, but quickly checked himself, and bowed himself away. The Konoha shinobi turned away and began their trek back to their village.

The leafy canopies of the trees created lovely sprigs of shadows that peppered the path they walked, which entertained Nika greatly. A good mood she was in! Good food, a soft and pillow swamped bed, some bruising and some cruising, and she was quite content.

"Nyaaaa…I love my job," she softly sighed to her shoulder while she rolled them to get the kinks out. Out of the corner of her eye, she would swear Aburame rolled his eyes, but she was not sure. No one has seen his eyes; they are hidden behind the rounded lenses which shield his most inner feelings. They lapsed into their usual and comfortable silence for the rest of the day, which was exactly how Aburame Shino liked it.

Later that day, near dinner time (Nika's stomach told her this) Shino was busy setting up his tent, when he heard the most annoying phrase ever:

"_SPIDER!"_ roared his companion, who danced upon her toes and clutched her hands close to her body – an utterly useless practice – figured Shino. His eyebrows slanted towards the rims of his shades in annoyance.

"Nika," he rumbled. Nika looked over her shoulder at him, her bottom lip trembling.

"But it's….**hairy**!" she whispered. Shino sighed, and brushed dry his dirty hands. He was not going to win this one. (A/N: XD). He pushed himself up and looked over her shoulder.

"It's a tarantula," and he simply swatted it away. He looked at her till she was slightly pink and sheepish, "You grapple with the Akatsuki with a Nakamura battle cry, but an arachnid makes you squeamy?" he teased sternly.

With a harrumph she leaned against a sturdy tree, pulled out her kunai, and began to hone them to a deadly degree. Shino returned to his work with his little fire.

Some time passed, and Nika realized she had been sneaking peeks at Aburame. She'd been doing that a lot lately…a fact that disturbed her greatly. _'But, _she reminded herself, _'is this not natural? He's grown taller, and with a deep voice, two things I chalk up as attractive, so it's not so weird, right?' _ She mentally sighed, and put her things away to ponder. So far, she'd been on at least ten missions with Shino. Granted, not alone but for some reason the Hokage seemed to think her fighting style compatible with Aburame's. However, if that were the case, then wouldn't she come out and say so when she asked her?

_ Flashback_

"_Aburame Shino! Nakamura Nika!" barked out Tsunade-sama._

"_Hai!" both cried at the same time._

"_I'm assigning you two to a mission in-"_

"_Oi, with him again? This is the fourth time, Tsunade-sama!" protested Nika. Tsunade-sama glared at her._

"_Yes, again. Now about that mission…"_

_End Flashback_

Nika secretly began to think, after that, that Tsunade-sama was trying to play matchmaker, and that thought sent her heart in a flurry of irregular beats of panic. She was not the dating type, nor would she think that Aburame-kun would enjoy the thought either. Her heart sank into a sea of static grayness, and brought her body down with it. The shame, the embarrassment singed her cheeks with color, and the flames licked at her temples in mockery. What….incorrectness, what wrongness to cross anyone's mind. It was wrong for her to be in an intimate relationship, she was too wrong for that. Wrong temperament, wrong body structure-the list runs on!

Shino's kikaichu bugs chattered in his ear so inaudibly that even the keen hearing of Nika's ears could not hear. Even if she could have, she would not be able to decipher their language. Shino mused over the information he was given. Her body temperature was going funky. It kept rising and falling every few minutes, and the way her eyes were glazed over made him think that she was thinking too hard.

"Nika."

"Aaaah..?" Nika drew out the sound after awakening from her daze. She blinked a few times and looked over across their small camp. Shino was sitting a few feet away from the remains of their fire last night, watching her. Well, she couldn't be sure of that. The shades, recall do you? "Did you want something, Aburame-kun?" She couldn't address him as Shino-kun, for some reason that just felt too personal, and _he_ never corrected her, so Aburame-kun it was.

"You look preoccupied," he remarked in his deep voice. She got all fuzzy again, blurred at the edges in gray as she almost slipped into that spot between conscious and daydreaming. She liked his voice, is that strange for her to notice? 'Not, of course not' she told herself, 'it is merely something that some people notice.'

"Nika!" sharply commanded Aburame-kun. Nika's ears flattened against her hair in agitation. His eyebrows were furrowed, big surprise.

"Whaaaa?" she scowled, deliberately using slanged up language to irritate him. Then she blinked, because she was for sure that he was over across the camp, but really he was quite in front of her nose. 'Uwaaah! Close proximity alert!' cried out her body in alarm. "Aaah, Aburame-kun, you're too close," she thought that would fix it, after all, he was a guy who respected boundaries when they were set.

He didn't move.

She didn't either.

God, does this man not breathe nor blink? He moved his face closer, and in reaction she leaned her back full up against the tree she was sitting up against. Heat, unbidden and much to her annoyance, rose to color her cheeks and slash across her nose in a most noticeable pattern. She was not comfortable, not comfortable at all! Her eyes darted from his shoulder to the top of his hair, to that ant that was marching towards her in menace (A/N: !!!). She looked anywhere, as long as it wasn't at his face, where he may see and read her like a book.  
All this was sounding oh so familiar…..

_Flashback_

_Nika pushed up against Shino forcefully, a smirk a mile wide across her face. He was shocked to say the least, and allowed her to push him around._

"_Shino-kuuuuun….." the kunoichi murmured into his high collar._

"_Nika…" _

"_Shino, I…" she started, but instead pursed her lips and began her way to his mouth-_

"_HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!" a female voice roared to Shino's left. Nika jumped back, just barely missing the flurry of kunai and shuriken that imbedded them in a tree a few feet away._

_A beat up kunoichi in bandages, ripped violet and black clothes and deep shadow-purple hair staggered into the bunch of trees Nika had pushed Shino into._

"_Get…out of my damn body, you bitch!" she growled out, awkwardly stumbling over a fallen brush of branches," How dare you do that to my body-TO KISS ABURAME OF ALL THINGS!" roared the stranger. "Nika" grinned._

"_It's mine now, you disgusting beast," taunted the fake, "Consider it payback: My brother's death for your body!" The new kunoichi (who later was found out to be called Kay) began to breathe hard, laboriously heaving, but she looked over to Shino._

"_Aburame, knock her out!" she commanded weakly. He stood there, frowning. "Aw, c'mon….what do you need? This isn't…ugh, just ask me something only I would know!" The fake Nika made a face and pulled out her pair of Sais. "Oh, no you don't!"_

_The real Nika jumped on her, but the fake Nika easily threw her off._

"_You shouldn't have beaten my body so much, you can barley stand!" then Kay whipped around and started running at Shino, obviously not wondering what his abilities are._

_A few moments later…._

_Nika opened her eyes slowly, a headache blooming in her temples like a lotus. "Uuugh….EH!?" she yelped as she was hauled up and slammed against a tree, a kunai to her throat. She saw stars, and then shiny, shiny shiny….shades? Shino? "Aburame?" she mumbled._

"_What's my favorite food," a gruff and stern voice came to her through the twinkling galaxy that had formed in front of her, and-ah, yes, there he was._

"_Nn…vegetable salad, duh…" she mumbled. He visibly relaxed and flipped his kunai back into his leg holster._

"_Is she the brother to that ninjutsu master from…?" She nodded, oh so thankful to be back in her own, comfortable, and less flashy body. She didn't notice that Shino had braced his arms very hesitantly against the tree, and was directly in front of her. It was only when his breath hit her face that she came out of her thoughts._

"_Ah, Aburame-kun, you're not….?" she quickly silenced herself. He had this strange look to his face that she couldn't quite place, and it was starting to freak her out. Not to mention that his smell was everywhere and it was quite distracting. He smelled…good. He didn't smell like an object, more like a feeling. Like that feeling you get when you're all comfy in-between all of your pillows, the temperature is just right, and you just ate a dish or two of your favorite food….oh, and you're sexy._

_Nika shook herself, literally, which was quite fortunate that she did because she stopped him from moving closer._

"_We should go, Aburame-kun. Lee-san will be waiting," she tried to sound normal, not as if his forehead was touching hers. His forehead protector was cool, and the brush of his hair made her wiggle._

"_Not yet,"_

"_Not yet?"_

"_No, not yet" he trailed. 'Oh my god, he isn't…' her panic swooped up like a tsunami and crashed down on the back of her neck, pouring down her back in rivers of wild instincts that told her to run her ass away. _

_Their noses touched._

_Her eyes slammed shut._

_His lips touched hers._

_Hell froze over._

_Heat ran around her body like it was a playground and gave her energy. She poofed away and re-poofed back onto a tree branch some ten feet up. Shino was whirled and faced away from her, and without a by-your-leave, started walking towards Konoha._

_End of Flashback_

She decided she needed a frontal attack to disarm him. That's what made sure that she couldn't move his random attack. So, fight fire with a flamethrower, like Yuka-san said. (A/N: Yuka's her dad people).  
"Aburame-kun, why did you kiss me after we captured the Ninjutsu Master?" she asked quietly.

Damn Yuka-san, and his infernal advice. What she hoped for was not what she got.

"You're not a stupid person, Nika," he rumbled. She raised her chin defiantly, feeling her normal flair of character come to her.

"Not usually, but I'm confused. Clue me in," she retorted. She also noted out of the corner of her eye that the ant had retreated-no doubt to bring his friends and get in on the festivities. Shino pushed his shades up closer to the bridge of his nose, a classical movement that everyone with glasses is prone to do. He shifted his body so that he was kneeling on one side of her legs, and his other was brought up to touch her likewise bent knee.

'Well, that was quite effective,' growled Nika to herself as her body twitched, the burn of his gaze nearly ripping off her face in embarrassment.

Shino noted this with a very slight tilt to her head, much to Nika's surprise. He was not the, "head tilt" dude. Kiba was, and so was she. The head tilt was supposed to be for that brash, but spirited bunch of people who enjoyed a laugh, not Shino!

His neck stretched forward, creating a lovely arch with his muscles that made her fingers dance on her thigh. His breath came to her in a cloud as fresh as a pine tree.

"Shino," her voice came from deep in her throat, nearly a growl, "You never answered my question, and you _know_ how I hate having to ask three times," this time it was a growl. Albeit, she was not threatening him; she was simply impatient. His face moved inch by inch closer, but stopped when she growled again.

"I like you," and she swore that the ground came out from 'neath her and slapped her in the head with the sod. Her head lolled back and than came back with a snap.

"I dislike being joked with when I'm in this uncomfortable situation,"

"I dislike being told I'm joking, when you know I never do," countered him. She abruptly stood up and glared, because he had a point. He followed smoothly, a slight breeze pulling absently at his high collar and jacket. Distracted, Nika took in his appearance. He had on a wonderfully olive greenish-grayish hooded jacket over a high collared shirt in a coal black along with cut off black pants. She always had liked his hooded jacket; it said to her that he liked to hide beneath the covers or under a blanket.

Shino almost had to stop himself from asking aloud if she liked what she saw.

"So you're serious…." Her face fell at his affirmative. Very much miffed at her obvious negative to his confession, he furrowed his brows at her again.

"You have some sort of problem with that?" Nika, startled at his tone, looked at him a long time and sighed.

"Yes, Aburame-kun. I'm not…." She winced at what she had to say. "Let's just say, I'm a fighter, not a lover. Do you understand?" He leaned back to consider this, still on the ground before her. Nika wondered what she would do if he started kissing her feet, but shook the thought of her head savagely. Her heart randomly told her brain that something was coming that was going to sway its way of thinking.

"Do I look like a lover to you?" the look on her face must have been comical, because his eyebrows became softer, and did not frown at her anymore.

"But I'm…I'm…" Nika looked down at her clothes. Tan shorts that fell to nearly her knee with plenty of pockets in the proper spots, a bandana attached to her belt loop, and ninja sandals in black. A black tank top covered by her huge white hakama with a hood sewn on; not very impressive or sexy. She looked down at him instead, "I'm not…I'm a tom girl. Oh for heaven's sake," she scowled, "I'm loud, you're not. I'm not very smart, you are. I'm clumsy and graceless, you're not." She began to list off things that did not pair well with whatever she pulled out for Aburame. She started to circle the tree, and he followed. Naturally, as has happened several times, she paid no mind to where she or he was going, only that she was moving. Because of this, she didn't realize she was walking up the tree, but why should this matter? "You're much sexier than I am, I mean you've got the cool hair and you're torso, un! I've got muscle, but I'm sure you have…." And on she went without really thinking

"If I did not know better, I'd say you were complimenting me," he interrupted her wryly. Her words came back at her like a boomerang and nearly slapped her out of the tree. She stopped on a very large and sturdy tree branch, nearly green for the moss.

"Um….." she slapped hands to her face and glared at the heavens. She made the mistake of looking over at him. It was very creepy how he could walk like that…all smooth, with purpose. Her ears twitched and then flattened anxiously.

"Now I speak," he began.

She stared. He just moved in front of her, hands in his pockets.

"I'm only going to say this once more, I-like-you," her teeth clenched in denial, "if you doubt me, then that's your fault, not mine for not being able to convince you," he finished with his low voice.

The full situation swarmed around her like Aburame's kikaichu. It bugged her, no pun intended. She sighed, and slid her foot to the edge of the branch, focusing her chakra to her feet in carefully measured amounts. She turned and fell backwards. Shino made an alarmed sound and went to grab her, but it was for nothing. She swung as if by a magnet to the underside of the branch, clung to the belly. Directly beneath him, she relaxed her body. Her hair fell to the floor, as did her hakama.

Shino looked down; those furrowed brows back again damn it.

"Shino, I don't think it will work," Nika's voice was quiet, "Because you and I? We're just completely opposite."

Narro: Well, how did you all like it? I'm going to keep writing, just not right away I don't think. About all the flash backs, there's going to be more. This is because I was originally going to do the story from start to finish in chronological order, but I kinda like this better. Gives the story more in some way.

Kyouya: That it does.

Narro: Oh, Kyouya-san! Forgot you were here ;

Kyouya: They don't call me the Shadow King for nothing ! Anyway, people, read and review please.


	2. Chapter 2

Narro: Okay guys, decided to start on second chapter. For a few there, I almost forgot why I called it 'Incognito' -;;;

Kyouya: Exactly why you hired me, Narro-kun. ;

Narro: D Anyway, Kyouya-kun, would you please?

Kyouya: Certainly. Narro does not own Naruto or any characters mentioned, they belong to Masashi Kishimoto-san. She does own Nika, steal her and I will bring down my private police down upon your soul…

Narro: oo Er, yeah, there will be some language…

If Shino didn't know any better, he'd say he is suffering from an awkward case of cat-got-your-tongue, plus a generous dose of "awkward silence" syndrome. Granted, he is not a talkative guy, but this absence of Nika's usual random remarks was pressing against his usually solid shoulders and back. Not to mention Nika looked pissed.

Her brows took a leaf out of Shino's book and were furrowed, her feet made sharp, rustling noises against the dirt path. The late afternoon was magnificently golden, and her amber eyes nearly blended in against the setting sun. She must have felt him staring, because her eyes slid from directly in front of her to the corner of her eye. She inhaled and grew two inches, daring him to speak.

"Something the matter, Aburame-kun?" knowing full well there was.

"No,"

She took that into stride and resumed her ignoring him. Why she was mad is beyond Shino, usually a woman would be overjoyed to find out she had an admirer. Then again, Shino admitted to himself as he continued walking towards Konoha, there were two things wrong with this particular situation: he was the admirer (which spelled difficulty no matter which way you looked at it), and she was the admired-something she apparently believed she could not be. He sighed inwardly, and pushed his shades up the bridge of his nose.

Konoha! Ah, the charming place that it was, Nika thought. So many hiding places….this crossed her mind as she snuck a peek at her comrade. It was very hard to tell if he was looking at her or not, much to her annoyance. The path that led to Konoha's gate was broad, and the path was worn smooth by the trampling of many zori covered feet. She snuck a look at him again, letting him lead for a little while. Okay, sure. She was acting like a frozen bitch, she understood that. But when some guy- Shino is not _some_ guy, she scolded herself- confesses to her that he likes her, what is she supposed to do? Throw herself at him and flutter her eyelashes at him? Wear pink dresses and giggle? Nika's hair stood on end at the thought of her acting so feminine. She was a tomboy, and only enjoyed girl things when they weren't so blatantly so, like cooking a good meal. She shook her head to herself; no…it was better off this way. She was too instable to be in a relationship, no matter how much she admired Shino.

They walked through the crowded village, with its buildings of many colors clustered and squashed together at jaunty angles. Trumping up the steps to the Hokage-sama's office, they both glanced up at the stone faces of previous Hokage's in respect.

The curved hallway with cool, linoleum tiles led the way to a huge oak paneled door, where they stood in silence.

"You knock," she did the eye slide thing again. Relenting, Shino raised his knuckles and tapped them to the door.

"Enter!" barked a voice; to which, they complied and promptly stopped short. Nika went as far as to drop her jaw.

"Daughter!" cried Yuka grandly. He strode over to his horrified daughter and plopped a hefty hand onto her dirty-dishwasher blonde head. He gazed on at her affectionately, baring two fine fangs between his lips. She just growled at him. Aburame Shibi nodded to his son from his spot in front of Tsunade-sama, the fifth Hokage. Rock lee was assisting Shizune with her papers that were scattered all about the right side of the room; apologizing profusely all the while in rapid bursts. Ignoring the fiasco, Tsunade beckoned the two chuunin to her desk.

"Your mission?"

"Completed,"

"Ridiculously easy," Nika drawled. Tsunade's eyes glowed, a darker amber than Nika's, and her mouth quirked suspiciously. Ignoring this, Nika looked over her shoulder at her father, "Yuka, what are you doing here?"

"Nosy brat, I have requested someone come and save my village, since you are not about to," he glared, still sore that she had refused to be next in line to rule after him. Nika frowned.

"Nakamura Yuka, I will have Aburame Shibi here escort you back to the main gate, I will send two chuunins go incognito to your village to catch this thief, it will cause a lot of problems for Konoha if your village's secrets get into the wrong hands. Of course, this all comes at a price…" Tsunade had a glint in her eye, adding emphasis on the "price" part. Yuka merely waved away the inconvenience of money and threw a bag of Ryou on her desk. Tsunade swiped it from her desk and instructed Shizune to take it to the vault.

Shino was starting to become agitated from standing in a crowd for so long. Nika, too, shifted restlessly. Tsunade's eyes zipped back to them with a malicious grin. The comfortable grin on Nika's face slipped off quickly.

"Spidey senses tingling!" she whispered to Shino. He whipped his head to look at her, clearly annoyed.

"How many times-"

"Enough!" barked the Hokage, Yuka shaking in silent laughter at his daughter's joke. "Aburame Shino!" Shino stood up straighter, "Nakamura Nika! I have a delicate and involved mission for you both," began Tsunade, a smile tucked onto her face. She noted Nika's pricked ears and realization dawning on Yuka's features, "You both are going on a mission to-"

"AGAIN?!" Nika roared.

"I forbid it!" Yuka shrieked. Rock Lee's fingers plugged his ears hurriedly, marveling at how much the two sounded alike. Both panted from their outburst, and Lee took unplugged his ears tentatively.

"I've been on several missions-too many- with Aburame-kun!" Tsunade looked on, innocence falling off her face like a wax mask.

"My daughter is spending too much time with this boy!" snarled Yuka, obviously not caring how much he insulted the entire Aburame clan.

Both Aburame's present stiffened, and Nika whirled on her father.

"You. Be silent," she softly growled, eyes blazing into his golden flecked vision. She then shifted her hakama and bowed deeply to Aburame-sama, palms touching each other modestly, "Forgive my father, and any insult he gave to Aburame-kun, Aburame-sama," she pleaded warmly. He bowed his dark and afro head and gave her a quick smile. Nika returned the smile easily, she liked Aburame-sama, and he was cooler and more fluid than his son, who looked very disgruntled right now. She decided this after he did his uber-brow furrow, and matching frown.

"Ech, no more interruptions!" shouted Tsunade. Everyone became quiet enough for her to continue, "Shino, you and Nika are going incognito. You will be fiancés on a small retreat to the Nakamura village. Undercover, you will seek the thief-nin who is stealing the Nakamura family's sacred scrolls. Bring the culprit here for questioning," informed their Hokage. Noting the absolutely horrified looks on Yuka and Nika's faces, along with Shino's determinedly blank countenance, she continued, "This is a high ranking mission, the thief has proved himself dangerous enough to take down one of Yuka's warriors who pursued him. This is why I am asking you two," she finished, not quite hiding her glee entirely. She pushed a manila folder towards the chuunin and whirled her chair around to stare out the window. The conversation was over.

Everyone moved very slowly. Yuka was attempting to support his daughter, who wavered at every step, clutching the folder like a life line. Gently, Shibi closed the door to the Hokage's office and they all stared at each other in the circle they formed.

"Wow, what an awkward assignment, Nika-kun!" exclaimed Lee sympathetically.

"Un…" she made an excuse and flipped through the folder, "Eh, she gave us fake names to use," she murmured, still stunned. Yuka, still reeling, leaned against the wall.

"That's how under cover missions usually work, Nika-kun. Best just go with the flow," advised Shibi. She smiled weakly at him.

"Nika, I would like to see that folder," Shino requested softly. Nika nearly jumped at his voice, but walked over and handed him the folder. Shibi watched in amusement as the pair avoided eye contact, while Yuka seethed in the corner. Lee peeked over Nika's shoulder, which she didn't seem to mind.

"Ooh, it says you two have to dress in different clothing and even speak differently? I wish I could go on one of those!" breathed the Green Beast of Konoha Jr. Nika's mouth twitched and smirked at Shino, who acquired a small bead of sweat on his cheek.

"Yes, that means that someone needs to stop-"

"So, when does it say that we leave, _Nika-chan_," interrupted Shino. Her hand gripped the hem of her pocket and clenched. Sparks flew from both ninja's and the room temperature jumped several degrees. Lee sweat dropped and stepped back a little, but then he caught sight of Sakura down the hall. He swung his arms to wave.

"Good afternoon, Sakura-sa-AAH!" cried out Lee. His arm swept up behind Nika, too close to pull back, and knocked off her balance. Of course, she fell forward…straight onto Aburame Shino! He caught her shoulders, but his lips also caught her mouth, half open in surprise.

Five seconds went by without a single person moving.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tick…TOCK! In a flurry of motion, Nika buried herself into Yuka's back, hiding behind her father like a coward. Shino faced the wall, attempting to cocoon himself in his jacket and high collared shirt. Yuka's jaw had hit the floor long ago, and was steadily accumulating dust bunnies.

"Well, that…ah, I'm sure it was an accident, wasn't it, Lee-san?" cheerfully asked Aburame Shibi.

"Y-YES! Exactly! I didn't mean for this to happen again, I mean it was not my fault the first time I saw them, but-WHOOPS! I am SO sorry! This is not like me at all," groaned Rock Lee. Nika's fingers dug into Yuka's coat, only just preventing him from springing upon Shino.

"You've…you've….kissed before…?" he choked out. Neither of the two answered them. Shibi merely tugged his son one way, with Lee following. Nika followed the Jounins example, and pulled her father in the opposite direction, dodging questions left and right.

Behind the oak panel door, Tsunade sipped her sake with a grin to make the Cheshire cat envious. Shizune looked at her reprovingly.

"Tsunade-sama, you should stop while you're ahead,"

"You're just mad cuz I'm winning the bet," the Hokage laughed at her assistant.

"I don't care about the bet, it's wrong to meddle with-"

"Psh, you know they're meant for each other. They get each other, I get 5000 Ryou in the bargain," pleased with herself, Tsunade topped off her bottle with some more sake. Shizune sighed and went for the headache medication.

It took the better part of an hour to explain to her father how she and Shino had kissed before. All the while, she was preparing to be someone else. She had to wear traditional clothing, and her name would not be Nakamura Nika. She would keep the Nika, so Shino would not stumble and blow their cover (A/N: Hah, dream on Nika) but her last name would be different. Yuka's ranting against, "that bug boy" or "that Aburame boy" filled her apartment to the brim. She finally got sharp with him and told him to shove off for their village. After all, it would look weird if he were escorting the "couple" to their retreat. She nearly had to kick him out of her apartment, but he finally left.

She fell on her mountain of pillows and stretched out, studying her feet. Eh, how was she supposed to wrap her obi by herself? More importantly, how was she going to pretend she was engaged to Shino? Dismay wracked her face, until her eyes landed on a book she'd picked up recently, _Be Zen_. Interesting, if not a bit shaky. Still, the meditation ideas were handy. Hm, yes…meditation. She leaned back against her pillow padded wall and took deep breaths. Slow, slow, slow…think of delicate, dew covered flower. White as bridal clothes petals, soft as a horse's muzzle, and very relaxed-like clouds. She spent some minutes thinking along those lines and indeed felt a bit relaxed. Well, Nika supposed, she ought to fix the dressing problem, but who…? She went over to her barely used phone and frowned at it. It then occurred to her that she didn't even know anyone's phone number. She scowled and grabbed her zori, and hopped out her window.

"Ehyaagh!" the roof tiles were _hot_! Nika quickly stumbled into her sandals. Baka, she swore at herself. She hopped from roof top to roof top looking for any kunoichi she knew well enough to ask for help. That meant either Sakura or Hinata. She spotted the Hyuuga family home only a little ways ahead, so she opted for Hinata-chan.

Hinata was a little surprised at her request, but she followed Nika home and helped her. The yukata was not grand, but it was dressier than Nika was used to. And it was stiff, too stiff for her to run in.

"Ugh, I don't know if I can pull this off, Hinata-chan," she complained to the midnight haired heiress.

"I know you can, Nika-kun. You're a good actor, need I remind you," chided Hinata. Nika quit being surprised at the shy kunoichi's frank manner when she was around Nika. For some reason, Hinata seemed to relax around her. Nika smiled, it's true. She did enjoy putting on a show.

"Oh Kami-sama…" she murmured, thoughts rushing on all the fun things she could do and say if she weren't herself. Hinata finished tying the obi. She turned Nika around, eyed her up and down and pronounced her good to go. As Nika turned to exit the door however, Hinata frowned and cleared her throat.

"Hm?"

"Um, what about…your ears?" worried Hinata. Nika blinked and looked up, which was silly-you can't see your own ears. Nika breathed deeply, and so hard her ears melted away into her hair, making Hinata gasp and cover her mouth. "How did you do that?"

"Eh, I really don't know, never did that before….but do I have…?" trailed the blonde kunoichi. She lifted her fingers that were lost among her sleeves and touched…human ears? "Weird," she remarked, "Well, thank you very much Hinata-chan," and they both bowed very low. Well, Hinata did, Nika couldn't bow very far with the way Hinata tied her obi. Nika paused before the doorway; "Do you think this looks okay, you're sure?" fretted Nika. Hinata smiled.

"Shino'll love it,"

Shino felt like he was going to a very important meeting. His yukata that the Hokage provided him fit well, but it was formal wear. He sighed; his collar was not there to hide his mouth. Now people would see how he frowned so, something Nika would be sure to point out. And his head felt naked, he was not allowed to wear his hitai-ate, the headband with the burning leaf engraved on its metal plate. At least he was allowed to keep his glasses, he thanked god for that.

He adjusted the pack slung around his shoulder, it contained basic supplies that anyone would have, including a map that was encoded with their mission and its details. He was also in charge of the Ryou they had to use, although Hokage-sama allowed him to choose where to spend it, telling him to ask Nika which inn's where the better place to spend the night.

He wriggled his toes, which were clad in new sandals that had yet to be broken in. He sighed; this was going to be very difficult. He could not be anyone other than him, did Hokage-sama expect him to open his mouth and become Kiba?

One of the guards looked up and blinked. "Is that Nika-kun?" The other looked up from his magazine, and stared, "Nah, that's…Okay, so it is" he raised his eyebrows. Shino turned his head, and blinked also. This was…different.

Nika walked slowly, holding her pack in her hands awkwardly. She saw them waiting up for her and quickened her pace very carefully, trying not to get winded.

"Afternoon, guys," she called to them when she reached Shino. They greeted her casually, and turned back to their booth to check some merchants out on their log book. Nika looked Shino up and down. A deep cobalt yukata framed his body in just the right way to make it look like it was a custom fit, the trim was a lovely cerulean that made Nika think of the sky above the ocean, remarkably clear and soothing. The design was a simple mountain top design edging the hem. His hair was everywhere, since it was not managed by his hitai-ate at all. Nika smiled, she liked him better this way; he was more wild and less of a tight-ass.

"It suits you," she complimented him, nodding to his attire. She pulled a fan from her bag and fanned her face lightly. He gained a blush across his nose, and cleared his throat.

"You also look nice," which was not a lie. She should wear white and purple more often. Her yukata was pretty much all near white, with purple butterflies stenciled edging the neck line, wrists and near the hem. Her hair (thanks to Hinata-chan) was swept up in some sort of pony tail, with a cotton ribbon holding it there and dangling down to tickle the back of her neck. And, her ears were gone?

"Your ears are gone?" he questioned, brows furrowed. She smiled, and tilted her head so he could see her human ears. Also, her crimson eye markings which normally rim the bottom of her eyes were gone, as if they never were. "Interesting,"

"Hm, shall we go? It'll take a while to get there if we walk, half a day actually," she slung the pack to her back and waited for him. He copied her and then stopped. She stared at him, wondering in all hell how they were supposed to act like fiancés?

He seemed to read her mind cuz he offered his arm. She stared, remembered her meditation exercises and breathed in. Think lotus, think lily; delicate, she thought to herself calmly. She slipped her hand through his arm and settled on his forearm.

They walked slowly, trying to adjust to each other's pace, which was hard. Nika took large steps normally, and power walked. Shino liked to pace himself and take smaller steps. It also freaked Nika out, because she felt like she was connected to Shino. Their arms were linked, and she could feel his subtle tugs and pushes as he moved. It was an oddly intimate action. They were quiet for nearly two hours before any of them spoke.

"Was your father angry?"

"Hm? Oh, yes I guess he was," she replied airily. She looked at him, tilting her head, "I suppose your father thought it was amusing?"

"Vastly," came the terse reply.

"I don't see…never mind," Nika quickly realized if she had said what she was going to say, he'd probably rip her head off (not that she blamed him). Shino didn't ask what she was going to say, of course. He instead turned to business.

"Where are we sleeping," his voice rumbled, fingers flexing longingly to put his hands in his pockets….even though he didn't even have pockets now.

Nika's ears tried to twitch, but human ears generally don't do that. Instead, she looked down at his right arm, rigidly in a ninety degree angle with her arm tucked between.

"You know, if your arm needs a rest, we don't have to…" she said this will slipping her arm away. He stretched it out and bent it several times, it finally falling to his side, which was foreign for Nika. She decided to answer his question.

"We'll probably head to the Lucky Dragon Inn; it's very clean and customer friendly. The owner doesn't know me very well, so we should be fine," she murmured quietly.

"Ah," Shino muttered, and the unspoken question hung in the air.

"We'll see how much it costs to get a second bed…" she cracked out in a much higher tone than usual. They continued walking like this for the rest of the afternoon, both grateful that the path was shaded very well. The sun would have baked them both.

Shino examined a stone marker on the side of the path. Nika noted it too, and took his arm again to reassume their charade.

"My name is Nakashima Nika, pleased to meet you. What is your name?" smiled Nika playfully. Shino repositioned her hand so it did not have to hang over his forearm, but instead cup his upper arm instead.

"My name is Morisato Shino, Nakashima-san," he answered. She clucked her tongue.

"Neh, we're fiancés. It's Nika-koi," she chuckled. Shino raised a brow.

"You're enjoying yourself?" he nodded towards one of Yuka's warriors who was watching them walk into the village's entrance.

"Sure, why not?" she said in a tone that dared him to contradict her. He complied willingly. He looked around, having never been to this part of the Nakamura village before. The village was no where near the size of Konoha, but it was more rustic.

"Where is the inn?"

"I…honestly don't remember," admitted Nika. Shino sighed as she flicked the fan out and fanned herself, "Calm down, ask someone," she insisted.

"I shouldn't have to," Shino growled inaudibly. Nika stared.

"Oh god, you're not going to do that male thing, and not ask for directions are you?" she demanded. Shino paused, and looked at her. Male thing?

She waved her fan at his face, giving him a few short gusts of cool air to his slightly sweaty face.

"Chill, allow me, Shino-koi," she smoothly told him. An elderly lady stopped to watch the scene, and chuckled. Nika spotted her, and threw her a charming smile whilst Shino's face slashed pink again. He pushed his shades up the bridge of his nose and turned to the elderly lady.

"Excuse me; do you know where the Lucky Dragon Inn would be?"

"Yes, young man. It be that way," she pointed, "Only five minutes away. You two newlyweds?" she grinned wickedly. Shino gulped. He knew this was a bad idea. Nika squeezed his arm very gently, and grinned at the old woman.

"Not quite, fiancés, how could you tell?" she laughed.

"Ah, your man is blushing fire," giggled the old woman, who bowed and hobbled off. Nika looked up at Shino and smiled again.

"Zen, Shino-kun. Chill," she pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at his temple. He jerked his head, unused to the fussing, but let her after she rolled her eyes at him.

They found the Lucky Dragon Inn with no problem. It was a respectable enough place, and the lobby was very inviting with its pretty wall scrolls of mountains and forests. The man at the desk welcomed them warmly. Shino took over with the arrangements, things like that familiar enough to him to make him calm down. The man flicked his gaze at Nika questioningly. Her heartbeat quickened, thinking he had recognized her, but he merely looked back at Shino.

"Fiancés?" at Shino's nod, the man went on, "One bedroll or two?"

Thud, thud, went Nika's heart.

"Which is cheaper?"

"They're the same," the man's pen hovered over a box on his tablet.

"One, then," finalized Shino.

Thud, thud, thud, thud THUD!

"EEEEEEEEEEEH??!!" shrieked Nika. Both men jumped and stared at her, her face burned with shame and with fear. Now what? "I mean, EH? A GHOST YOU SAY? Behind you, sir!" cried Nika, pointing behind the balding man wildly, clutching Shino like a lifeline. The man spun around, clearly superstitious, but finding nothing there looked at her wild-eyed.

"Was it a woman?" At Nika's nod, he went white, "I…I think I'll give you two a discount…." He stuttered and sent the maids to usher them to a room.

Shino shut the sliding door sharper than he should have, but damn it that was close! He frowned at his, "fiancé" who was on the floor, clutching her head at her own stupidity.

"Well, that was stupid," he scowled at her. She glared.

"What's stupid is having to share this bed," she shot. They both looked at it. It _was_ pretty big actually. Big enough so they wouldn't have to touch.

Shino noted that there were two folding changing screens for their convenience which was pretty nice. Mayhap Nika's blathering moronic-ness did not do much damage at all? Nika nodded at him.

"Okay, it could have gone bad this time, but it didn't. So let's just go to bed, and start work tomorrow," she said aloud. They both chose a screen on one side of the room and began to put on some night clothes. Naturally, Shino was out first considering he didn't have any hair accessories (A/N: D) to take out. He chose the side closest to the door of the bed roll. He decided that going to bed in just pants would freak her out, so he wore a t-shirt as well. Shades still intact, thank you.

Nika stepped out from her changing station and peeped at him. Loose shorts and a tank top with the word, RoXoRZ mY BoXoRz scrawled across the chest were her ideal bedroom apparel. Shino openly stared. Well, not openly, shades, remember? Nika rolled her eyes.

"I don't mean you," she said, hand on her hip.

"What?" he frowned at her. She gestured toward her shirt.

"I don't mean you have to, I just think the words are fun," she defended sheepishly. Nika dropped down to her knees at the foot of the bedroll. It was like it was a land mine, so carefully did she tread upon it and bury herself under the covers.

"Nika,"

"Hmn,"

"The lights are on,"

She kicked him.

He got up and flicked the lights off. She couldn't help it, she peeked. She wished she hadn't. Shino in pajama pants dotted with kikaichu bugs stenciled on was enough to make anyone giggle. He frowned at her in the dark, the covers rustling as his return. She ignored him, and instead turned her back to him and snuggled into the pillow.

"Goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the kikaichu bite, Shino-koi," she cackled.

He kicked her foot.

"Ow!" she whimpered. He sat up.

"I could follow up on that," he warned, shades all glinty in the moonlight.

"Okay, okay! Sleep…" she muttered into her pillow. He watched her for a moment and then lay back down, sighing.

The moon slashed across the covers at intervals, giving the room an ethereal look. Eventually, their breathing evened out, and everyone slipped off to dream about kikaichu dancing in top hats to classical music, much to everyone's dismay.

Narro: HAH! I finished. God, that's a lot of pages….

Kyouya: Narro-kun, go to bed. ;

Narro: Okay….review guys…


	3. Chapter 3

Narro: Oh, god guys I'm sorry. Some idiot (brandishes fist at that idiot) told me that the flowy jacket that Nika wears is called a _hakama_, but I recently found out that a hakama is actually pants. ! I feel so stupid.

Kyouya: (avoiding gaze) Ahem…I'm sure people want to read the next chapter, Narro-kun.

Narro: Ah, yes…would you?

Kyouya: Of course, (scribbles on his clipboard) any characters besides Nika belong to Kishimoto-san. Nika belongs to Narro. Steal Nika, and face my wrath.

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No one was quite sure exactly _why_ they all dreamed of dancing kikaichu, but no one was going to ask aloud, that much was certain. It was an awkward waking up, which entailed some lively demonstration of Nika's vocal cords and Shino's embarrassment. It all started out so innocently…

Nika felt all warm and fuzzy-a feeling she adored. Her toes curled between the covers, and her cheek nuzzled her cushy pillow. A pleased smile slashed across her face, turning away from the sword of light that streaked across her face. Of course, in doing so she was pretty much nose to nose with Shino. Her ears twitched. Something was not quite the norm, her mind told her sleepily. She stretched out, as she did every morning and wondered why her hand felt muffled. She opened her eyes half way, and was greeted with the sight of Shino's face a mere five inches from hers. His glasses glinted, and for once his eyebrows weren't scrunched-whoops, spoke to soon.Those dark eyebrows slanted, nd then the peaceful image of Shino was ruined. Bu he did not stir. Practically nose to nose, Nika mentally threw a chain around her inner beast and threw her to the ground in order to calm her. He's probably sleeping, she told her panicking self, we'll just turn around and-if that's his hand on ours then we're a monkey's uncle. Her eyes darted from his relaxed face to his chest. His breathing was even and slow, which could mean he's sleeping still.

Very gently, she tried to ease her hand from his. Maybe he clutched his bed sheets while he slept? Or maybe he was used to holding onto a pillow, like she did. Her mind came up with these excuses, shooting down the fluttery memories of Shino confessing to her with a shotgun.

Ack!

His hand wouldn't come loose. He was not gripping her, merely covering hers to the bedroll. She idly wondered how she coud slep on her right side if her right hand was pulled in such an award angle. She glanced down at the covers; concealing their joined hands….she shuddered. She jerked her hand, but his hand came with her, albeit it slipped a bit.

"Do you want me to let go?" Nika's head almost fell off for shock. Okay, so they were holding hands.

"I'm a monkey's uncle," she said stupidly. He stared at her for a long time, watching her lower lip quiver. Stupid, stupid, STUPID, she screamed at herself inwardly. His hand finally left hers, and he let her sit up. They were both quiet for a few moments, before Nika looked over her shoulder. The covers had slipped from his torso at one point during the night, and had gathered around his waist. She noted that he kept his shades on, but easily brushed it off. She had camped out before, and he never took them off. He probably showered with them on….so they fogged up and he had a frosty look about them, she imagined with amusement. Nika covered her mouth with her hand, smiling at the thought.

"What were you planning on doing today?"

"Following you," Shino sat up as well, leaning his weight on his hands held behind him. Nika tried not to look down at his kikaichu pajama pants, they would make her giggle.

"Well, I'm going to the Nakamura family house, looking around to sniff for…." She scowled, "looking for clues and whatnot," she finished. Shino nodded, ignoring the inference that she was to sniff out clues like a dog, and hopped up towards his changing screen. He was already mentally tallying up the data from the file. The thief was stealing very valuable sacred scrolls that were kept in the Nakamura family. The thief already injured several of Yuka's warriors, but had only managed to get away with a fake scroll because of the scuffle. The warriors claimed not to have seen the face of the thief, but they were sure that he was a ninja. And if a sacred scroll were really that appealing, then he would try to strike again.

Shino heard a curse from the other side of the room, so he peaked around his screen.

"Nika?" He heard a sigh of disgust, "What's wrong?"

"It's…I can't get my hair up like Hinata did it yesterday….this is why I do not decorate my hair ever!" she savagely bit out from behind the screen. Shino adjusted his sandal and walked around their bedroll to tap on her screen.

"Are you decent?" In reply, she threw one part of the screen away from her to reveal her completely dressed in her yukata, but her hair was down, the cotton ribbon in her hand. She scowled at him.

"Why do you have it so easy?" He glared at her, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"Easy? I have to pretend to have a fiancé who can't tie up her own hair," he growled. She sucked in half the air of the room, grew five inches in height, and slitted her eyes at him.

"Well! _Excuse me, darling_, _but I normally don't apply useless bits of cloth to my hair to make it look spoofy!_" And with that, she grabbed the last portion of the screen and swung it closed, missing Shino's nose by inches.

A knock at their door startled them both.

"Um, is everything okay in there?" called the hall maid.

"Yes, everything is fine," Shino answered, then quickly went around the screen and grabbed Nika's arm.

"Listen, we're both trying to work this out, this is what team work is," he began. Nika jerked her arm out of his hand and pulled on the ribbon, securing it in her hair. She swept a few sharp bangs from the knot and let them fall across her temples, then tilted her face towards her comrade.

"Better?" she questioned, trying to keep her face stoic. At his nod, she attempted to find her sandals. She eventually found them, of all places, at the foot of their now messy bedroll. Nika stared at it, and shrugged, "The maid'll make the bed," ignoring Shino's disapproving look. Her eyes slid over to the generous mirror across from her, not quite believing that the creature in it was her. Her dirty blonde hair looked nice up, made her look at least three years older. She missed her ears and her eye markings, but nothing could help that. Alright, time to brief Aburame-kun.

"Shino," she began. He looked up from his pack, in the middle of extracting a money pouch. He tucked it into his yukata discreetly, and nodded for her to continue. They said nothing of their slight tiff. Nika took a breath and started up again, "Because we're going to the Nakamura house, we're going to have to be very different from what we normally act like…until we get inside the house of course," she added brightly.

"I know," he rumbled, running his fingers through his hair. Nika watched, fascinated. He stared at her, so she delicately shrugged her shoulders and beckoned him out the door.

"This is so stupid," she growled, ten minutes later. Her hand clenched Shino's upper arm. Shino tried to keep a straight face, resisting the urge to scold her. Her fan flapped at her face, proving that it was utterly useless, as it was not cooling her down at all. The walk had both spooked them, trying to act like lovers was hard. Since the village was small enough that mostly everyone knew everyone, people were curious about them. Something they didnt want. The blatant stares unerved Nika and annoyed Shino. It made it all so much harder to keep in character. His feelings for Nika he had already made known, as gently as he could. And now here he was in a situation that he should maybe have liked a few years in the future, but it was now instead. He felt rushed. He did not like being rushed. It didnt help that Nika had rejected his feelings, throwing them off and growing that the feelings werent real, that he was fooling himself. Maybe he was, he did not know.They were within sight of the Nakamura clan's impressive stone front gate, and Nika was starting to panic, "My father's going to kill me-no, he's going to kill you first and then start screaming about how his daughter has slept in the same room as-"

"Nika, _enough_," he growled in her (human) ear, trying to pass it off as an action that any fiancé would do when courting his woman. Nika quieted, but only because his breath tickled her ear (once again, human). Her eyes closed to slits and she began to repeat the mantra the Zen book taught her. Approvingly, Shino straightened his back again and pretended to guide her around a puddle in the middle of a road, much to the pleasure of several noble ladies reclining under bamboo umbrellas on a veranda. He smiled a very small smile towards them, and rigidly led Nika (who needed no leading whatsoever, she complained) to the front door. The house loomed in front of them menacingly, and the sparring group of warriors did not help to make it seem welcoming. One of Yuka's warriors was waiting for them, obviously having been told to expect a couple to come calling sometime today.

"Where do you hail from?" the scar on his cheek and neck were incredible, Nika noted. She didn't know him very well, only by face.

"Konoha, we've come to visit Nakamura-sama," she coolly fanned her face. She must have said the magic word; because they were rushed into a spacious and well lit waiting room Nika didn't often have the chance to explore. She made herself comfortable on some pillows, while Shino reverted to his introverted old self. The door flew open, and Yuka attacked his daughter. Well, flung himself at her and shook her by the shoulders is more the definition.

"UWEH?!" she shrieked, slapping Yuka full across the face without a thought. He let go of her and bared his fangs at her, which she mimicked. Shino was reminded of a cat fight he once witnessed behind his house.

"Nakamura-sama," his deep voice reached Yuka.

"And you!" spat Yuka, "Where did you sleep last night?" A fan came down upon Yuka's poor head, and to the floor he went. The owner of the fan snapped it shut and sat down next to her daughter. Yuka growled softly at his wife, quieting at her scolding glare. Then Nakamura Maya smiled at Shino.

"Good morning, Shino-kun," she greeted warmly.

"Good morning, Nakamura-sama," Shino replied easily. Shino got along with Nika's mother; she was quieter, and seemed to keep a cool head. How on earth she ever married the loud and over the top Yuka was beyond anyone's imagination.Shino had met her on one of his smaller missions which were usually to escort Nika to the Nakamura village. Maya looked over at her daughter. Her pretty brown eyes looked her up and downin surprise.

"Well, you look…nice," offered the Lady. Nika looked around uncomfortably, not used to her mother paying her compliments.

"Uhn…Thank you, where's-Eh?" Nika looked upwards as two small hands searched about the top of her head in earnest. Two chocolate colored pigtails popped into view, as did the round face of Nakamura Hana, "Hana, my ears are gone. Leave my hair alone, it took me forever to get it right," Nika lightly swatted her little sister off of her back. Hana landed on her father's knee delicately.

"Onee-chan, you're ears are gone, and you're wearing nice clothes…did you switch bodies?!" gasped the five year old. Shino cleared his throat purposefully. Hana caught sight of Shino, and gasped again. "Shino-nii-chan!" Her little arms reached out to hug him, but unfortunately the five foot gap was too much for her. Yuka scowled at Hana's interruption, she was in the way.

"Ah, Hana, let's go and get to your training. You will talk to them later," and with that Maya ushered her younger daughter out, giving Shino a sympathetic smile. The sliding door shut with a clack and Yuka sighed, sitting on a huge pillow strategically placed between his daughter and the could-be-possible-maybe-in-a-million-years-boyfriend.

"Alright, give us the story, Father," Nika said, attempting to get comfortable on her pillow. Giving up, she moved to a new one across from both men. Yuka's ears pricked at the "father" part, and a smug smile floated to his face.

"Week ago, the warrior you met at the front gate was ambushed from above while he was on guard duty of our scroll library. Most of the scrolls are just maps and the like. Two of them, however, contain the Nakamura Family's secret Jutsus. One of them, no average shinobi could use because they don't have any attachment to an animal, but it is still valuable in that it gives away some of our secrets to our other Jutsus like our Big Roar technique," Nika nodded, urging him to go on. Yuka sipped his tea, wetting his lips, "The other is very dangerous, a combo of two elements that at least any decent Jounin could achieve," finished Yuka. Shino frowned.

"You only have one guard?"

"Two, the other broke his arm attempting to pursue the ninja. We only have two because not many people know about the scrolls to begin with. I know it was a ninja; no one could sneak up on Daichi and Arata like that," Yuka leaned back, a serious look on his face for once, "I really hope no one is trying to start a war with my village," he grunted. Nika wished she had her ears to twitch.

"We'll want to look around the library," requested Shino, putting down his cup.

"We'll also interview Daichi and Arata," murmured Nika, getting up with Shino. They were halfway out of the room before Nika stopped short, "Yuka, who would want to make war with the village?" Yuka gave her a long, calculating look that Shino did not like. Nika didn't think much of it either.

"Our next door neighbor, the Kato clan. You know them, they're the parents of your ex-fiancé; Kato Anji," Yuka's voice dropped to a low tone, wondering at Nika's reaction. Nika snorted, and shut the door with a sharper clap than was necessary.

"Follow me, Aburame-kun," she ordered sharply. Shino followed, brows furrowed at what Yuka had just said. Fiancé? She had a fiancé? He was led through a labyrinth of deep, wooden floored hallways decorated simply-but elegantly. Obviously decorated by Maya, there were Haiku poems and traditional art everywhere (for Maya simply adored poetry). Upon reaching the small scroll library, which Sakura would have scoffed at, Nika proceeded to locate a scent that did not coincide with Yuka's warriors. She did this discreetly, not putting her nose to the floor like Akamaru. While her sense of smell was not quite as keen as a dog, she could identify people and places by scents in a way humans could not.

"He's male, and he must be a hired shinobi or thief," concluded Nika, after making the rounds. Shino let loose his kikaichu bugs, swarming the entire room-wall to wall- with his kikaichu.

"What makes you say that?" he said absently.

"He's a male because he was really smelly and no self respecting woman would let herself leave a scent like that," Shino rolled his eyes again, but Nika did notice (the shades!), " And he's hired because he smells like cheap leather. All hired Shinobi and whatnot skimp on leather because they usually don't want to leave a traceable hint of their armor or arm guards et cetera," Nika watched the walls, and became dizzy. The walls moved in a dizzying fashion, thanks to the kikaichu.

"He did not use any genjutsu or ninjutsu, there's no chakra residue," thought Shino aloud. Nika looked out the window.

"Oi! Daichi, Arata! HALT!" she waved her hand out the window frantically to make them stop them. Shino called back his bugs. They waited for the two chuunin to catch up. They bowed to Nika respectfully, eyeing her unusually nice clothing. She glared at them.

"Nakamura-sama, and…uh…" Arata, the younger of the two fumbled for a name.

"Aburame Shino," supplied Shino. Arata thanked him and finished his greeting. During their interview, they learned nothing special other than the attacker dressed in all black and was quick about his feet.

"I was standing here," pointed out Daichi, who pointed to the doorway of the scroll library, "And he must have gotten me from the roof. The tiles are of clay, so they should have made noise when he walked, but they didn't," Daichi scowled. Shino hopped up onto the library roof and told his kikaichu to search it, tile by tile. Below, Nika studied the geography of the yard. It was wide, and expansive, that led to every building on the family property. The scroll library was a small building isolated by the garden, no bigger than twenty by twenty feet. All other buildings were too far away for a normal person to jump from roof to roof.

"Nika, come-ah, Nika…." Nika looked up to see Shino, with a small blush slashing across his face.

"Eh?" Daichi, the elder warrior looked down at Nika as well (He was much taller than all of them) and his eyes flew towards the heavens.

"Nakamura-sama, you're…you're obi is sort of….slipping. So you're…" Nika's eyes shot to her chest and she nearly screamed. Never had she allowed anyone to see such cleavage! Her hands snatched at her top and she leaped onto the roof, skittering past Shino and furiously adjusting herself.

"**You did not just see that**," she growled over her shoulder.

"I did not just see that," repeated Shino, pushing his shades up his nose. A bead of sweat dripped down his temple, and Nika attempted not to notice. The Aburame held out something between his fingers to Nika, "This was on one of the clay tiles. Either he was in a rush, or he's very sloppy," Nika delicately took the small shred of material and deeply inhaled.

"Part of a mask, no doubt. The material is very breezy. I can easily track someone with this bit," she smiled, glad to find a lead. The kunoichi leaned over, looming above the two warriors who listened in, "Arata, will you please fetch one of Yuka's lions? Any will do, but preferably one that's evenly tempered. I don't want to bring a lion into town that will have to be chained," she added. Arata hurried to do as he was bid, gingerly minding his arm that was in a sling. Daichi felt that he was dismissed and walked off to the training grounds.

"A lion?" a questioning brow rose on the Aburame's face. She watched as another bead of sweat trickled down his face, and gave up. She strutted over to him, pulled out a handkerchief and roughly swiped his face. His dark eyebrows furrowed, creasing the skin between them.

"Yes, a lion. What, did you think I was the only one who befriended them?" She asked him, lifting his collar so she could swipe at his neck properly. He jerked his head backwards, an embarrassed quirk set about his mouth.

"I did…what are you doing?" She looked up at him with one of those, "What does it look like I'm doing?" looks. "I'm fine, Nika."

"You'd think you'd be used to heat, you wear that heavy coat and high collar all the time," she remarked, pulling back the hanky and tucking it into her sash. Shino didn't feel like telling her it wasn't the heat that made him sweat so. Or rather, he didn't feel like pointing out to her that her top kept on coming loose…

She must have caught him with his face pointed down, because she whirled and fixed herself again, muttering against the evil yukata and its obi counterparts. Her head tilted upon hearing something and they both looked across the grounds to see Arata leading a demon on a chain. The tawny body was extremely well fed, and his extravagant ebony main was decorated with deep blue eagle feathers. He was scarred, but carried them well.

"….We are not bringing that into public!" Shino savagely growled into the kunoichi's ear, gripping her shoulder. She didn't answer, only swatted his hand away and pounced to the ground. Shino followed, awkward in the formal wear and grabbed her shoulder again. Arata led the great, furry, scarred and impressive beast less than three yards from the shinobi. The lion's head came above Arata's own sheepishly grinning head.

"I'm sorry, but he was the only one I could find…"

"He's….SO CUTE!!!" squealed Nika, her hands coming up together, fingers dancing against each other. All three pairs of eyes turned to stare at her. The lion especially, having never been referred to as, "cute" was leaning his head forward to inspect this fascinating creature in front of him. What creature that stood on two legs could have fangs like he?

She reached out with her right hand, smiling. They touched and instantly she hugged his head to her chest. His eyes closed and arched in pleasure as she rubbed behind his ears.

"Nya, what's your name?" She asked him in a low tone. She appeared to pause, and the lion murmured into her chest gently.

"Hideyoshi, what a perfect name for one such as yourself," Nika pulled herself from him and ducked under his neck. Shino moved forward, next to Arata, who looked nervous.

"Ah, Nakamura-sama, we're not allowed to take him-aack!" he cried out. Nika unclipped the chain and let it fall heavily to the ground.

The beast reared back his neck in surprise, paws dancing at the dusty ground in agitation. Fingers cupped his shoulder and he instantly quieted, inspecting the female before him. The other male, the one with a mane of his own (Shino!) rushed at her and grabbed her by the withers (Shoulders) and did one of those human face contractions. He did not like that…

Shino stiffened at the earth trembling growl, that seemed directed pointedly at him. Nika chuckled, and stroked the big lion's face soothingly.

"Nika, you won't be able to control him in public," scowled Shino.

"Perhaps I should put him back…" trailed Arata, picking up the heavy duty chain.

"Absolutely not, he's a sweetie pie. Aren't you, Hideyoshi? You're going to help me out, won't you?" she crooned. He purred in response. Shino tilted his head upwards towards the heavens and sighed loudly.

"Do I have to croon in your ear too, Shino?" she teased over her shoulder. His head rolled back down to his shoulders again. Arata quickly made his exit, kicking up a trail of dust towards the warrior's quarters across the way.

"No, do I have to put that chain around your neck too, Nika?" he countered in agitation, not quite realizing that what he said could be taken in an entirely different manner.

'_Kinky bastard, isn't he?'_ muttered Hideyoshi against Nika's dirty blonde hair, exhaling so a few strands flipped out of her knot. The kunoichi blushed, a sprinkle of pink slashing across her nose and cheeks.

"Shino, maybe you should think before you speak…" she let out, uncomfortable. His eyebrows rose.

"What?" completely puzzled. Well, of course, Nika thought to herself absently, why would Shino know about such fetishes? The guy probably never saw a dirty magazine in his life. Shaking herself, Nika held the scrap of evidence to Hideyoshi's inquiring face.

"Please, could you tell me where this person has gone? I promise Yuka will reward you with a nice choice steak afterwards," promised Nika. The giant dropped his heavy head and inspected the scrap delicately. Shino called out a few of his kikaichu, and they too took in the scent.

Yuka chose at that moment to walk into the court yard. But, he was not alone.

"….Bloody hell," cursed Nika, stepping behind Hideyoshi quickly. Shino glanced at her, and then back at the pair of men walking towards them.

"Shino, where'd Nika go-_What is Hideyoshi doing without his chain on?_" roared Yuka, exposing two, acute points that were his fangs. Hideyoshi sniffed at his keeper's face in disinterest, and instead chose to plop down on the patch of sun they were currently standing. Unfortunately, this exposed Nika-kun. Yuka swelled up, preparing for a vocal battle with his daughter, but the man next to him dressed in deep forest greens and browns interrupted him.

"Nika-jo, what a pleasant surprise," warmly greeted the sorrel haired stranger. Nika, refusing to answer politely, instead walked behind Shino, looking at him from over Aburame's shoulder. A surge of possessiveness rose up in Shino then. Yuka must have noticed, because he became tense.

"Anji, this is Aburame Shino; Nika's comrade," he introduced briefly. Both of the Konoha shinobi snapped Yuka a pissed look, they were supposed to be undercover damn it!

"Oh, I see! My name is Kato Anji, pleasure to meet you," politely put Anji.

"Pleasure to meet you," Shino allowed in an unusually gruff voice.

"Ah, Nika…be careful with Hideyoshi. Anji and I are going back inside to discuss…trade, yeah, trade," coughed Yuka, avoiding his daughter's piercing death glare.

"Ja ne, Nika-jo, Aburame-san," waved Anji, turning tail to follow. Once they were safely inside the house, Nika blew out a breath in relief.

"Okay, let's just go…" she sighed. Hideyoshi stretched out and began his tracking.

Fifteen minutes later…

"Well, this helps," remarked Nika, examining the leather bag filled with refuse clothing. The edge of the forest was very rigid. It was almost like a wall of trees separating the fields from the outside of the village. Shino said nothing, only listened to his kikaichu giving him data.

"It's a few days old, and there's mildew. It was left here on the night of the attempted theft," Nika nodded at this.

"If we identify anything on here that will point where it came from, then we'll have enough evidence to convict and persecute," thought Nika aloud. A nudge at her elbow made her look to her left, "Eh?"

Hideyoshi stuck his face in her own for a moment, and their eyes met. An almost telepathic connection was made, and was accompanied by small, low frequency sounds made deep in Hideyoshi's throat. Nika's ears pricked quickly (Metaphorically, of course).

"..You're sure?" her question was affirmed with an unmistakable nod. The amber eyed kunoichi sat back on her butt for a moment in disbelief.

"What's wrong?" Shino crouched down next to her. She looked him directly, right into his shades.

"Hideyoshi says that those clothes reek of Anji," she toned. Inner Shino punched the air in triumph, but Outer Shino only furrowed his brow.

"We'll just have to keep that in mind, come. I'm hungry," he held out his hand. Nika stared at it, an odd look on her face. She took it, and was hauled up easily. The bundle was gathered up and slung around Nika's shoulder.

The easy walk back to the family house was beautiful. Everything was red and gold: the sky was brushed with wispy clouds of smoothie colored pink and yellow and the sun blushed the ground to a lovely crimson. The field workers were already home, eating supper. Some scurried past them, looking over their shoulders at the huge beast that walked beside them like an over grown house cat. Hideyoshi seemed to care nothing for them, only to swat at flies that bothered his hindquarters endlessly. Nika's sandals clacked atop the dirty path that curved into the town. The shopkeepers were already closing, and paper lamps were being brought out to hang above bar and brothel houses all through out the small piece of civilization.

"You were engaged to Anji?" randomly broke in Shino, pushing his shades back up his nose again.

"I really don't want to talk about this, Shino-kun," she replied hotly. Shino waited till they had stepped off the main street, which wasn't big at all, considering the size of the village, and then tugged on her sleeve. She blinked at him, her feet trying to lead her towards the pens where Hideyoshi was to be dropped off.

"Neh?"

"As your fiancé, I have a right to know about past ex-fiancés," the tone he used was the closest he ever would come to teasing. She raised her eyebrows at him.

"Later," and with that she left him to slip into the pens, beckoning for Hideyoshi to follow her.

He waited for her by the garden. He sat down on the step that led up to the house's outer hallway. Leaning against the wooden pillar, he watched the moths fly-dance around the paper lanterns that the maids were hooking up along the edges of the garden. It was a modest garden, not nearly as big as his mothers. Nor was it extravagant. A small pond that held maybe four koi fish was off to the left, and everything else was either a small tree, patch of flowers, or a bench to sit on. The thrum of footsteps on wood reminded him that Nika meant to speak with him.

Very carefully, the Nakamura settled down a little ways from the Aburame.

"I gave Yuka the bag. I believe he's hell bent on breaking Anji in half right now," she remarked.

"It could be a set up, whoever did it could just have gotten hold of some of his clothing,"

"Possibly, only a closer inspection of Anji's right arm would shed any light on this situation," she began. Seeing that she had his attention, she went on. "Arata managed to throw his sai at the intruder. He didn't damage him greatly, but he did knick his arm. The blood had already dried by the time they thought to gather any of it for a sample," she quickly added, seeing Shino ready to protest.

"Hm," and then they fell silent. The sky is quite interesting at this time of day. Half of it, as if it were a lid of some sort, is the colors of the setting sun: reds, golds, oranges. However, the top part of the lid is one of the most beautiful colors of existence, a velvety blue dotted with pin pricks of light that capture ones eyes and refuses to let go without a fight. A smile of contentment slowly swept across her face, her head tilting.

"He was your fiancé," repeated Shino. Broken from her revere, Nika sighed.

"You won't let that go, will you?"

He shook his head.

"Fine. Yes, we were fiancés. I did not want to, but Yuka seemed to think that because he acquired a daughter, he must also acquire a son in law. I broke it off within two weeks," she recited in a bored tone.

"Anji did not….mind?" Shino tried. She flicked an ear at him.

"Not that he mentioned. I don't like being around him, he unnerves me…" she closed her eyes and her black back ears swiveled forward again. "You look different without your hitai-ate on,"

"I do?"

"Your hair isn't being controlled by it. It looks good," she muttered sleepily. "Hana also seems to really like you,"

"Hm."

"YOU'RE NUTS, OLD MAN!" a shriek nearly caused Nika to fall off her seat and onto the bush of lilac at her feet.

"Shino! Run!" she shouted. The sound of their feet smacking against the good wood of the house sounded like drums; drums to signal the beginning of a battle. Shino flung open the parlor door to find Anji, Yuka, and Anji's manservant Hikaru flinging their arms around, red faced, tousled-haired, and very angry. Anji spotted Nika and flew toward her, and gathered her hands in his.

"Nika-jo, explain to your father that I'm not trying to wage war with him!" he hurriedly demanded of her. She yanked her hands away from him, flaring up in indignation. Stunned, Anji paused.

Using this pause to his advantage, Aburame gripped Kato Anji's right arm and squeezed.

"Ughn..!" grunted the Sato. A drop of blood gathered from between Shino's fingers and landed on the floor with an ominous plop. Everyone looked at it in awe.

"So, you_ ARE the culprit, Anji-kun_!" the heat in Yuka's voice could have melted a hammer.

"No, it was-"but the Kato did not get much farther. The room was filled with noise, fists waving and flashing of kunai. Yuka's shouts, Hikaru's screeching, and Anji's cries all tangled up in Nika's head and went bowling with her sinuses. Quickly, she exited the room and escaped outside, towards the front of the house. A bucket full of rain water greeted her, and she eagerly cupped a handful of water and washed her face. She let the droplets drip down her neck, tickling her, but feeling good anyway. The Nakamura sighed, but then paused, cocking her head to one side. There was no more shouting…Oh god, what if they had declared war? The village, the village could not cope with a war right now! Panic seized her and gave her new speed as she entered back into the house in a flurry of white and purple.

The girl burst through the door like an explosion, wild hair and all. Only to find the men sitting down like civilized folk. They were tense, they were angry, flushed, but they were sitting. And lo and behold, who was sitting between them all, with a face of a scolding teacher but Aburame Shino! A discreet buzz at her ear made her examine the walls more closely. A smile came to her face, the walls were checked with kikaichu, and so was the floor. How cunning, thought Nika with pride, to use the kikaichu to intimidate them all.

"I'm back," she reminded them. Everyone greeted her politely as she sat down next to the Aburame.

"We want war," growled out Hikaru, Anji stiffening at this. Yuka bared his teeth, but before he could speak, his daughter jumped in.

"I don't think so, Hikaru-san,"

"Why, you-!" spluttered the manservant.

"Anji, why," Nika ignored the blathering idiot, but turned to his master. Anji's shoulders straightened and looked her right in the eye.

"If this village will not join with ours to form a more prosperous place, then we'll just have to make sure that this village falters so that my own will thrive," this was a different Anji than Nika was used to. Anji was normally a slight goofball, but very polite. This one was cold, a characteristic that Nika did not appreciate.

"Well, I guess you're not going to get _your_ way this time, now are you?" She smiled without smiling, her two fangs pointedly exposed.

"We may always war," he shot back, pale blue eyes sparking.

"Like hell we're going to war with you now," breathed out Yuka, leaning forward with sharp eyes. "I'll never give you the satisfaction of that. Plus, you've got shit for an army," he added gleefully. Nika's foot came out from underneath her and whacked her father in the knee. Her father howling in pain, Nika once again turned to the rather blank faced Anji.

"If you insist upon bringing war to my village, then I will bring war to your doorstep, Kato Anji," Nika's voice went low, her tone tensing. Her eyes however, were calm, almost lazy. He looked away from Yuka's pleased smirk and instead settled on Shino, who had said nothing the entire time, other than to call his kikaichu back to him.

"I would find a way to escape you…" slowly put forth the Kato. Nika smiled, closing her eyes serenely. The wind suddenly picked up, rapidly.

"Escape me, surely. But do you expect to escape the wind?" she cheerily picked up the tea cup in front of her and sipped from it. Composed and cool, she could be quite intimidating. And to be perfectly honest, she was enoying every moment...even if it was a little cheesy.

Somehow, she shooed them away. Well, Yuka did most of the work. Swatting at two men with a pair of katanas is an unusually effective way to make unwelcome guests exit the premises.

"Well, 'your village' is it now?" teased Yuka, his hand on his daughters shoulder. She shrugged, but whether it was just a shrug or a way to get his hand off of her shoulder is not clear.

"Nika," interrupted Shino. Once she had turned toward him, he continued, "We should go, the inn will close and we'll be stuck," she started to agree but stopped.

"We were supposed to bring Anji back to Konoha…" she started.

"I'll send him to Konoha myself, Nika. I'd rather tie him up-I mean, send him on his way myself," Yuka cracked up. Both shinobi rolled their eyes, said good night and left for the inn again.

The way back wasn't a long one, but it took quite awhile for them to reach their destination. Everyone kept on recognizing Nika, sometimes even Shino.

"Nika! You're hair looks nice!" complimented the butcher.

"Eh?!"

"Aburame-san! Where'd you get that yukata!" cried a crowd of awe struck children.

"…" Shino took his comrade's arm and began to speed walk. Nika looked upwards and then at her partner in incognito. They were just around the corner to the inn, thankfully.

"I don't think it matters anymore, we did our mission, so we can stop pretending, Shino," she concluded slowly. It was only at that time that she realized that she had ceased calling him, "Aburame-kun," and instead had reverted to calling him by his first name. She stopped walking, almost falling out of her hardly broken in sandals.

"You're right….what's wrong?" he stopped too, still holding onto her elbow. She shook him loose, shrugged, and reached up and pulled out the cotton knot that she had induced her normally fly away hair into. It fell down with a relieved sigh.

"Ah, much better," she commented. He watched her, his head tilted to the side a little. Quirking an eyebrow, the Nakamura looked questioningly at her partner. "Yes?"

"Hn, nothing," and he turned around the corner into the inn's doorway. Harrumphing, Nika darted into the much quicker alleyway, which directly led to their window.

Shino slid open the door of their room, and was only mildly to find the Nakamura stretched out on their bed roll, already in her pajamas. This night, they included a long sleeved gray cotton shirt, with a deep crimson pair of boxers. He also noticed her markings were back, and so were her ears. She looked pleased about it.

"Took you long enough," she teased, and then dove under the covers. "Turn out the lights, too," she commanded, turning her back to him and snuggling down between the sheets. Scowling, he flicked the lights off and fled behind his changing screen. After splashing his face with chilled water, changing to his pajamas, and releasing the very temporary Morisato Shino, he slid back into his real, comfortable name. Sighing, he stepped out from behind the screen and made his way carefully to his side of the bed, the side closest to the door. He found he had an audience, her eye quickly darting up and down his body; her mouth curving into an amused smirk. An energy rustled up from his stomach and its fingers brushed against his face and neck. Aburame Shino had had enough!

"Is there something that amuses you about my wardrobe, _Nika-chan_?" he snapped, hands not knowing where to go, so they settled on his hips in indignation. Her eyes widened in surprise, she rolled over so she was facing him. Ignoring the feminine honorific that she despised attached to her name, she instead answered his question.

"Well, when I see a…" she started off slowly, coming to a rough patch. She frowned, and rolled a few choice words around in her mouth for a moment before continuing, "When I see a comrade of mine who makes it his calling in life to be a tight ass," here Shino stiffens, causing her to break out into a knowing smile, "and he decides to come to bed wearing boxers which expose more leg than I've ever seen him expose which are adorned with little kikaichu waving banners with sayings such as, 'Don't make us giggle' I'm afraid I'm going to have to chuckle just a little bit, Shino."

Shino's gaze shot down to his sleep attire. Granted, his mother did have a sort of sick sense of humor when choosing his sleepwear. The gray boxers were indeed decked with kikaichu prancing about with signs. His gray t shirt, on the other hand, was plain. Sighing, he plopped down in an uncharacteristic manner onto the covers, sulking. His partner sat up, a crease between her eyebrows.

"Something wrong? God, Shino, it was all in fun," she leaned toward him, frowning.

"No, I just want to act like myself again," he shortly answered. Nika tilted her head, absently pushing back a snippet of hair that was bothering her.

"I haven't been calling you Aburame-kun," she randomly noted. He turned his head to look at her, shades slipping slightly.

"You just realized that now?" She made a noise of affirmation, and then looked down at the sheets.

"I've also just realized that we're in a bed together even though our mission is over," she whispered, ears flattening against her hair. A sort of energy, a tension if the reader will allow, lifted from the floorboards and choked the two inhabitants inside. The air was charged, with something Nika did not know what. Suddenly she felt as if she was crossing a barrier that should not be crossed, a force field that was labeled, "personal space." She shifted, so her body was not as close, but that did not seem to make much of a difference to Shino. He moved forward when she moved back, left when she moved right. She lifted her head up to ask him what was he doing, but stopped at the sudden proximity of his face. If she wished, she could merely lean forward, and see over his legendary shades. She would see what no one else, save maybe his family, has ever seen, his eyes. He must have read her mind.

"I want to show you," his breath danced across her mouth. Was he serious? His head inched forward, until their foreheads touched. There was something very primal in being so close to another person, Nika was sure. Never having been near many people in her youth, situations like these were greatly uncomfortable. And yet, her inner beast seemed quite content to sit there and allow it, purr even. And those shades were waiting, watching for her. She decided to take a breath and think things through. Probably not a good idea, she concluded after doing so. God damn it, why does he smell good? She wondered what her face must have looked like; trying not to look pleased at his scent, scared, and puzzled all rolled into one face. There was not enough room, for sure.

The look on her face was hard to figure out, Shino concluded to himself. Her body language was confusing, she was trying to lean away, but her eyes remained where they were. Perhaps she was curious, or maybe she didn't believe he'd actually take off his glasses. Looking someone in the eyes was a very intimate gesture, perhaps with this; he would finally be able to convince her that he was serious. The unorthodox affection that stirred in his chest had been attacked, verbally beaten and abused by his mind for at least two years. His heart and head boxed it out, and finally Shino had to agree with the former, for once. Why? Shino didn't think even his heart knew. She was loud, moody, she had a few strange habits and quirks, and she was far to sharing with her emotions. She was also full of laughter, something Shino never understood. She was intelligent, but not overly brainy. She was also loyal, and she tried to understand every side of the argument first. Those qualities were the most enjoyable, not to mention it was oh so sweet how easy it was to taunt her.

Sudden movement startled Nika. His hands moved, one reached toward her and she had an irrational fear of it slapping her. Stiffening, she watched it, as if from another part of the room, as his hand slid around her waist and settled, curling around her. Naturally, this pulled her into a sort of embrace, leaving her hands with no where to go but her lap. His hand moved to the left arm of his shades, and paused, making sure she was watching. They slipped from his ear.

"NO!" she cried out, startling him. Her hands flashing out and held each arm of his shades to the side of his head with her palm. His face went blank, dark eyebrows floating upwards on his forehead. Her eyes were closed, squeezed tight. Her heart unclenched and she shoulders slumped. "Shino, you don't need to," she whispered. He paused, taking a breath, having forgotten how to breathe for a moment. The tension in the room suddenly slipped down a notch, but the room did seem to get warmer.

She opened her eyes, now assured that his shades weren't coming off. It was like a taboo, 'thou shalt not see thou comrade's eyes' or maybe it was something else. Perhaps, it was like the equivalent of her seeing him without a shirt or pants on, it was as if he was stripping…she would be seeing him naked. She shivered, not quite sure why. She was also not sure why her fingers were moving in little circles on the side of his head. Granted, his hair did feel nice…clean and silky, not frizzy like some people think. Good god, she thought, am I playing with…his hair?

"Enjoying yourself?" he asked, their faces still mere inches apart. She made her fingers stop, dropping her hands onto her lap. His hand around her middle flexed, and suddenly she knew that it was inevitable. She, who could fling two men apart, roar her soul out and blow down parts of forests, could growl and fight as well as anyone, could not break from this one's grip. Shino's face relaxed and she closed her eyes.

His lips met hers and lingered. What was it, moments? Or was it a month? Time knows not Aburame Shino's kisses!

She pulled back and licked her lips experimentally. Shaking her head, she looked up at him with a tired expression on her face.

"Shino, I really will never understand you," she admitted.

"Feelings mutual," his voice was deep, deeper than usual. He let her go very gently, and slowly they unbent from their positions and wordlessly went to bed.

That night, they dreamt of kikaichu performing a play called _Romeo and Juliet_, even though no one has ever heard of that play in their entire lives. Neither thought it a good performance, but their dream selves applauded anyway.

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Narro: I hope everyone brought their crackers, cuz the ending is cheesy. !!! I slaved four days to get this to look okay. I hope it's appreciated.

Kyouya: Why, how could anyone not appreciate your hard work, Narro-kun?

Narro: weeps I know not!

Kyouya: pats her head sympathetically Read, Review, people.


	4. Chapter 4

Narro: Um….yeah, I'm sorry for the bad chapters….I really have an issue about editing. I never seen to be able to catch the mistakes the first time I check. (Or the second).

Kyouya: Don't blame yourself, Narro-kun. Actually, the results from the first three chapters haven't been _entirely_ unsuccessful….

Narro: (Glares) you should know by now I'm a perfectionist at heart. Now, the disclaimer please?

Kyouya: Of course. Naruto characters are property of Kishimoto-san, but Nika belongs to Narro. All flames will be used to burn Zabuza-san at the stake.

The night was uneventful, thankfully. The mere fact that it had been her ex fiancé who had attempted to steal the sacred scrolls from her father was entirely unsettling to Nika. She had misjudged him, and she hated to misjudge others. These thoughts woke Nika up from her sleep very early in the morning. There was no clock in the room that they had deceived their way into, but she thought it to be about five in the morning; far too early to get up, but still too late to fall back to sleep. The sun must have just risen only a little, as the room was still a little dark.

Nika heard running water nearby, but was not sure how far or close it was thanks to her fuzzy hearing and limited vision due to sleep. 'Ugh, what person wakes up at this ungodly hour?' she sleepily thought.

Aburame Shino pushed back his changing screen and saw her watching.

"Of course…..only you," she muttered to her pillow. Shino glared at her from behind his shades.

"If we get up now, we can get to Konoha before dark," he informed, picking up his pillow and setting it into the closet. Nika scowled.

"We'd get there faster if we just ran the whole way," and with that she threw her pillow over her head, and turned her back on the Aburame. Silence came from the other side of the room. Suddenly uneasy, Nika peered out from a crease under the pillow. She was sure Shino would throw a fit for her laziness. However, the first thing she saw was not Shino. Nay, it was the huge mandibles of quite a few kikaichu that suddenly dotted the futon and her pillow. Their eyes watched her, skittering and making irritated scratching noises.

She held fast to the futon. She had almost jumped out of her skin, and that would be admitting defeat. Tiny feet crawled all over her hands, raising the hairs on her arms. She started to squeeze her eyes shut but stopped as she saw Shino's usual blue zori come to a stop next to her head. So, he was dressed normally, a relief. He looked quite nice in traditional clothing, but it was better to be back in the norm.

"Get up, or I'll put them all on you," he quietly threatened. A low growl emanated from the sheets.

"Do that and I'll do the most horrifyingly embarrassing thing to you that you can think of," Nika harshly spat out. Suddenly curious, Shino paused. Understanding this, she elaborated. "I'll rip off your coat and pants, hang you outside the window, and call everyone's attention to you," Of course, that would require her seeing him in his under garments, but she was willing to bet he would not taunt her so far as that.

"That's not the worst thing I can think of," he shot back, getting up and calling his bugs back. Nika sat up, feeling annoyed at his dismissal of her "torture", swiped at his feet half heartedly. Not ready for this, Shino did not step back in time to dodge her hand. The last thing Nika could think before Shino came down upon her was a little annoying voice shouting, 'Tiiiiimmmmbeeeerrr!!!'

His insects had tried to break his fall, but unfortunately Nika was where they should have been. Not knowing quite what to do, they hung back on the walls and buzzed worriedly. This left Nika with the Aburame crashing down upon her poor body. She attempted to catch him and hold him up to keep him from falling all the way, but only managed the catch part. She made a sound as he literally knocked the breath out of her.

"Ugh!" she coughed out. Damn, he was heavy. Then again, it could be just the coat. He hurriedly pushed himself up on his hands.

"I'm sorry! I'm not usually this clumsy!" he gasped. The kikaichu hummed simultaneously, reminding Shino that he was on top of a kunoichi. A blush slashed across his face as he started to get up, but stopped when he realized her arms were around him. This was moving at a speed that he did not agree with.

She blinked at him stupidly, still trying to make sense of what just happened. Pretty much all she saw was: coat, coat, lots and lots of dark hair, some skin there, there's a headband-oh, there's his face! "Ah, Nika?"

"Wait, what?"

"….What?" Shino gained a confused quirk about his mouth. Nika watched fascinated. Was this really the mouth that kissed her last night? It was hard for her to recall what exactly each felt like, she'd been so persistent in forgetting. So then, she's been kissed a total of three times in her life. 'Three. Wow. That's three more than I've ever thought I'd get,' she mused to herself. Then she realized she was staring, and that she still held onto his coat…and that this position was terribly indecent. She'd been sitting horizontally when he fell, but she moved to catch him so she ended up sort of slanted between horizontal and vertical planes. His upper body loomed over her, but his legs were at her side. So funny how she never noticed how huge this guy was until he was literally on top of her. Oh, that's right, he was literally on top of her. And waiting for her to speak.

"Uh, sorry-"but before she could finish her sentence or even release him, their door slid open.

"Honestly, cub, you are entirely too lazy for your own good," Nakamura Yuka stopped rubbing his eyes and settled them on the scene before him. Both chuunins nearly snapped their necks to turn to see Yuka. Both parties were quiet; Yuka from shock and Nika from absolute horror. Shino really didn't know how to feel, or what to think. Yuka didn't like him to begin with, and now he had a solid reason.

"Wh…wh….WHAT?!" Yuka's hands went to his head as his mouth opened wide, fangs glinting. Information overload, information over load! Please switch to emergency power, emergency power! A blur blocked his vision and then the door was slammed shut mere inches from his face. He froze again, and several hall maids whispered uneasily to each other.

On the other side of the door, Nika pressed her hands against the sliding paper door, head hanging down. Behind her, Shino sat haphazardly on the futon, trying to recall how she had managed to move that fast.

"I'll….I'll be right out, father," Nika quivered, not moving from her spot. Silence on the other side. Then, strained footsteps away from the door, toward the lobby. Turning around and being very careful to avoid looking to Shino's face, she tugged at the blanket weakly. Getting up and off the futon, he helped Nika fold the blankets and futon into the closet.

(Five Minutes later, in the lobby)

"Yuka, it was nothing," Nika growled, hands on her hips. Yuka breathed in and jerked his chin upwards in a stubborn way.

"I saw my daughter in her pajamas underneath an Aburame, what the HELL am I supposed to think? That it was nothing? No!" Yuka's lip curled at Shino.

"Nakamura-sama, I told you. I fell and she caught me, it was nothing," Shino stepped forward, hands in his pockets. Their gazes locked and electricity was very close to becoming tangible. Hesitantly, the superstitious innkeeper interrupted.

"Um, excuse me, but you're disturbing my other patrons. And…..someone broke the door to the room, so we're going to have to ask you to pay for damages," he quivered under Yuka's heated glare. Nika swatted her hand at Yuka's face, as if to swat away the glare.

"Of course, we're very sorry we had to deceive you like this. Here, I'll pay for the damages," she smoothly cut in, digging into her pocket. She was thankful she could finally wear her usual attire; the yukata was impractical for being a ninja. She withdrew a wad of cash that sent the innkeeper nuts.

"Oh, my! If I knew you were such a _valued_ customer, I would have set you in better quarters! Oh my, no, no no, if you stay one more night, we'll give you the best of the best!" chattered the innkeeper, hands pressed together eagerly, but his eyes glinted greedily. Shino also stared. Where did she put all of that?

"Nika, that's stupid to keep so much money on you," disapproved Yuka, frowning at his daughter's money skills. Nika ignored both of the men, and instead counted out enough for the damages.

"I'm terribly sorry," and bowed her way out of the inn. Shino caught up and looked at her angrily.

"I should have paid for that. It was my fault your father got so angry," he grabbed her arm to make her stop walking. She shook him off and rolled her eyes.

"Please don't make me loose my respect for you Shino….don't act like a chauvinist pig," she sighed. Well, _that_ made him shut up. Respect for him? Well, that's a start, thought Shino, although he did not forget about the damage cost. They began to head towards the village gates, intent to be on their way before it got too hot.

Yuka roughly elbowed between the two chuunin, standing as straight as a rod to exploit his great height in order to intimidate Shino. Of course, Shino would never fall for such a low level of communication. Apparently, that also irked Nika.

"Father, stop mistreating Shino. It was an accident, would I lie about something like that, hmm?" she scolded. Inner Shino smirked, he didn't need or want anyone to defend him from Nakamura-sama, but it was a good sign. Yuka's eye twitched.

"He your boyfriend, Nika?"

SLAP! Yuka rubbed his stinging cheek.

"I do not date," she hissed, and promptly stepped outside the village gates. Really, if Shino had not been so practiced, he would have found it hard to keep a straight face at Yuka's bewildered expression. Said person turned on Shino. He brushed his bangs out of his angry eyes.

"You heard what she said, she does not date. So don't chase her like some love sick teenager. I'm not stupid; I know what you think of her. Do you hear me, Aburame?" Shino's brows furrowed deeper.

"I won't chase her, Nakamura-sama. Please send the culprit from our mission as soon as possible to the Hokage-sama," and he politely bowed (A very small bow).

The walk home was slightly awkward. Nika fumed about her father's attitude towards her comrade (she furtively thought "comrade" and not "potential significant other") and Shino mused about how he had earned Nika's respect. When had that happened? She had always treated him decently, but not revered as she treated Iruka-sensei or Gai-sensei. When they first met during her chuunin exam, while he was overseeing it, she had commented on his fine skill of battle, but never said a word about respect.

"I just can't believe he still treats me this way!" the Nakamura blurted out randomly. Shino turned his head and waited for the explanation that was sure to follow. "I'm seventeen, nearly eighteen already! He should believe me; he knows I do not lie. And he shouldn't treat you like that either," she ranted.

"All parents do that, Nika." He reminded her, fully well aware of her particular situation. She harrumphed, crossing her arms and slumping over. "He doesn't like me because I'm…." Shino wondered what word to use.

"A guy?" Nika supplied.

"Yes, thank you. Because I'm a guy who is around you a lot….you know about animal behavior, you should know the rest." finished Shino. Nika's eyebrows shot up. Actually, it did. The Nakamura's have a history of few sons, and many daughters which was how they liked it. In a lion's family, there is one full grown male, and many related females and their cubs. The males are all driven off. So basically, it was like Shino was the invading male and it was irritating the dominant male, Yuka. Nika could not help but chuckle. Shino as a lion….with those shades…and his mane would be all….fuzzy and everywhere. God, he would be adorable.

Shino peered curiously over his high collar secretly, wondering what on earth had made her chuckle and gain that silly look on her face.

(Nearly half a day later)

"You can drop me off here, Shino. Really, I don't see why you feel the need to escort me to my own house," drawled Nika, shooting her eyebrows up at him. Shino didn't reply right away, but an insistent look on Nika's face prompted him.

"It's polite for comrades to do this, this is teamwork."

Nika rolled her eyes, but caught sight of Akimichi Chouji walking by with a very large bag of groceries. Smiling, she waved him down.

"Hey, Chouji-kun! Hey!"

"Hah? Oh, Nika-kun. Back from a mission?-crunch, crunch." Not being able to resist the jumbo bag of chips before him, he dug right in as he crossed the street to the Nakamura's building.

"Yes, an interesting one." She remarked, looking over her shoulder at Shino.

"Hmm, well, I'm-crunch, crinch, crunch-going to go and deliver these groceries, sayonara." And the Akimichi departed with a friendly wave.

"You know him?" Shino spoke.

"Mmmhm. Well, I'm going…"

"What are you doing today?"

Nika blinked at his quick question, and turned around to find an unusually uncomfortable looking Shino.

"What am I doing today?" she repeated. Several of her neighbors were walking down the street peered at the two shinobi curiously, used to Nika's method of running into her second floor apartment and not stopping. "Well, I don't know…why?"

Shino drew in a breath, slapping away thoughts of Nakamura Yuka's wrath.

"Would you….care to come to my house? You may like my library…" Shino let it out very softly, and her ears twitched to the soothing sound.

"Uh…." She tried very hard not to sound stupid, really, she did. 'Okay, let's think here. He's got a library, and he wishes to share. Harmless, right…? Shino would not be stupid enough to evoke my wrath by doing something dumb, no he would not…' she reassured herself. "Sure…just uh, let me put my bag away," and at his relieved nod, she jumped up onto her balcony and threw her bag into her apartment. Watching her through his shades as she jumped up, he noticed that the room's to the left and below were all vacant, and seemed to be filled with boxes. Landing next to him, she noticed his interest.

"I bought the apartment from the grocer next door, everything else is his storage," she jerked her thumb at the building next door.

"Ah. This way," and he led her down the street, deeper into Konoha. Biting her lip, she caught up to his elbow.

"Your parents, they're home?" How anxious her voice sounded, she chided herself.

"My mother is, not sure about my father," slightly disappointed that Shibi-san would not be there (She liked him), Nika pondered what his mother would be like. She's never met the woman, but she had a distinctively strong feeling that the woman would be sort of unorthodox, if the pajamas she bought for her son was any indicator.

They entered a housing district of Konoha that Nika rarely found herself in, as she lived in the shopping district (The Akimichi's were one of the few families besides her that lodged in that district). Passing a few lovely homes that looked very expensive, Nika began to sweat. 'Oh god, he lives in a mansion….well, it's to be expected. He's from a very strong line….And it's not like _you're_ in rags, Nika…..' Which was true, Nika did not have to worry about money, even before she found her family. Lost in her thoughts, Nika almost passed the front gates of the Aburame house, which was not the biggest house on the block (but a very nice size anyway).It was a two story, but also had wide flooring . And of course….

"_Shino, there are bugs…everywhere…_" Nakamura Nika clung to his upper arm, and dug her fingers into his jacket mercilessly. He let an amused quirk to his brow become apparent.

"Of course, you were expecting lawn gnomes?" To be perfectly honest, he was enjoying teasing her. She had never shown a dislike for his kikaichu, but seemed wary of insects or spiders in general. Her lion ears were flat against her hair, and she was afraid to step forward, for fear of crushing an insect and invoke the Aburame wrath. He gently told the bugs to clear a path; otherwise they'd be stuck at the gate forever. Reaching the door with ease now, they took of their shoes and left them in the foyer. Nika nodded in approval at the interior decorating; very simple, but cozy…although, the kikaichu dotting the walls were….unnecessary. Dark, hardwood floors with very simple paintings covering every other or so wall gave the home a woman's touch. Suddenly uneasy, she began to recall that she hated visiting other people because she was never comfortable in other people's houses….too late.

"This way," gestured Shino.

"Shino? You're home?" a woman's voice came from the dining room. 'Oh god, here it comes…'the dining room was set up for tea, and it looked like Aburame-san was just about to start her afternoon tea. "And….you've brought along a friend? Oh…a _girl_!" the woman gasped. Shino twitched in annoyance at the implication that he didn't have any friends. Short, dark hair framed his mother's face. Because she married into the Aburame's, she did not wear shades. Nor did she seem to have an affinity with the kikaichu, but rather tolerated them. Nika put on her best polite-but-no-push-over-face for the shorter woman.

"I'm pleased to meet you, Aburame-san. My name is Nakamura Nika-kun." She bowed gracefully, very careful to mention the "kun" part.

Shino suddenly was worried. He had not thought about his mother and Nika meeting, and their reactions….what if his mother….._said_ things?

"Mother, we're just here for the library, so-"

"Nonsense, Shino. You hardly ever bring anyone over, much less a _girl_." Scolded his mother. Nika sweat dropped. She had a feeling either Aburame-san liked her a lot, or did not like her at all. A foreboding feeling pulled her toward the latter. Both Shino and Nika stood awkwardly in the entrance way of the dining room. "Did you both just get back from your mission?"

They both gave her an affirmative, to which she clucked disapprovingly.

"You both must have tea. Sit." She ordered, and floated off into the kitchen. Nika looked at Shino for instructions. He pointed out a cushion for guests and sat at his usual spot at the square table rather reluctantly. When she sat, feeling as if she'd bitten off more than she should attempt to chew, she noticed her surroundings better. Two seats were left, one on her left and one on her right. She assumed those were where the heads would sit; Shino sat across from her. His mother came in again carting some sandwiches, and other assorted small foods.

"Of course, you're tired and hungry," bossed Aburame Chouko. Nika's ears twitched towards the door she and Shino walked in right on time to hear Shibi make his entrance.

"Now, dear. Let's not boss our guest around," he cheerfully reminds her. Catching Nika's eye, he smiled. "Good afternoon Nika-kun, how's it going?" Nika smiled at him. His easy going manner was much easier to deal with than Shino's stoniness Of course, he had his solemn moments in public, but he gladly shed that Aburame Statue façade when he was with friends. "So, how was the mission?"

"It was successful, father." Even though Nika also called Yuka father, it seemed all too polite when Shino used it. Of course, she could never call Yuka "dad" or "pops" and she could not imagine Shino doing so either.

"Well, good. Family sacred scrolls are not something you want to be floating around on the black market," commented Shibi. Nika waited till both Shibi and Chouko had picked up their chopsticks before following suite. She had no appetite for sandwiches right now, but instead was eyeing the small rice balls and takoyaki with a gleaming eye.

Making small talk with Chouko was hard, specifically since the Aburame added very little to the conversation in her defense.

"What quaint ears you have," remarked Chouko. Nika felt her inner beast's fur stand on end at her tone. Shino, although Nika could not see his eyes, felt that he was waiting for her _polite_ answer. She decided to placate him.

"Yes, I do like them," she flatly replied. Slightly annoyed at the noncommittal effort Nika was putting forth, she tried a different approach.

"So, why are you interested in my son?"

At this point in time, both Shibi and Shino choke on their food.

"Mother!"

"Chouko, that's just a little too direct!" protested Shibi. Of course, Nika had not been surprised. This was to be expected, nature depicted it. When a female starts to be involved with a mother's son, she becomes protective, no?

"Your son interests me, and that is all I need to say," smiled Nika, exposing a very minimal amount of fang. Shino's eyes skyrocketed, and he nearly forgot he had a sandwich in his hand. Shibi looked from his wife to his son's….well, whatever she was to him.

Nika spotted the last bit of takoyaki and went for it with her chopsticks. Another pair of chopsticks clicked against hers, both pairs a firm grip about the bit of food. Dark eyes met amber.

"My, isn't this a predicament," coolly began Chouko with a very fake smile.

"Yes, it is a predicament," cooed back Nika, with an equally fake smile painted on her face.

"Uh oh…." Shibi whispered loudly to Shino. The women took no notice, only began a small game of tug of war.

"Really, Nika-chan, I don't see why you should be here at all," chimed Chouko, her eyes glowing dangerously. Her phony smile stuck on her face.

"Nika-_kun_, Aburame-san," she corrected automatically, her eyes dancing with malice; her false smile also in place. "Well, I'm not here to ruin your precious boy. I'm here to enjoy a book with a comrade. Is that not decent?" This went on for a little while before Shino got fed up with his lunch being disturbed.

"Father, please…."

"Oh, alright," his father grunted. Delicately, he plucked the piece of takoyaki from the two women and popped it into his own mouth. Both women looked at him indignantly.

"Shibi!"

"Shibi-san!"

Both women looked at each other with a peculiar look on their face, and a mutual agreement was made telepathically.

'_Alright, Nika-kun. So long as you don't break my Shino's heart. He's more breakable than he look. And don't you dare do anything…foolish, if you know what I mean,"'_

'_Aburame-san, I am not going to "break him". I'm just a comrade, nothing more, nothing less. And I don't __**want**__ to do anything "foolish"!''_

The rest of lunch passed without a dilemma, most likely because it was mostly over when the takoyaki crisis occurred. Excusing them both from the table, Shino quickly escorted Nika away from his parents. Once out of hearing, he quickly whirled on her.

"Nika, I am….incredibly sorry for my parent's behavior," he apologized with his deep voice. She brushed him off.

"Eh. They're not as bad as mine," she looked around to find them in a hallway before a door. "What room is this?"

"Mine,"

"Ah, where's the library you were talking about?" she rubbed her hands together in gentle delight.

"In here," and he opened the door to his room and entered.

"Ah, Shino. This is your room, though," she quietly reminded him, hanging on the door frame warily.

"Yes, are you uncomfortable?" He turned his head to her, his hands planted on an aquarium with many different types of foliage in it. A faint skittering could be heard from inside the box. Come to think of it, Shino's room was very interesting. Many posters of insects with their body parts labeled and small bits of info spread out on his walls. He also had several terrariums and aquariums. Along the farthest wall, across from his bed (Nika avoided looking at that too long) was a very large bookcase that went from ceiling to floor was stocked with many books and encyclopedias. Sighing, she went in very timidly. After all, she'd slept in the same bed as him, so this was really a step down.

"I just make it a point to stay out of people's room," she flatly replied to his question, running her fingers along the spines of the books. "Very nice collection," she admired.

"Mmmhm, I haven't read them all. All the insect encyclopedias are the only ones I ever really read," he admitted, holding a very large stag beetle in his palm, changing its water and food. It crawled all over his fingers and watching it, made the hair on Nika's neck stand up.

"Tch, I don't know how you can do that Shino….doesn't it tickle?" she nodded to the beetle, who was now clicking it's mandibles at her curiously.

"At first,"

Shino went through his entire bug collection and freshened their water and food supply very meticulously while Nika thumbed through his library. Besides the obvious insect books, he also had numerous on animal behavior (Nika could not help but chuckle when she found the section on "Dogs" bookmarked, obviously Shino wanted to understand his doggy comrade, Kiba) and anatomy. A few weapons, standard shinobi strategy, and survival tip books that most shinobi have at least glanced at once or twice at also were included in the "library". Shino explained that his father kept his books in his room because his mother complained that having books in the bedroom crowded it. He gave her a cushion to sit on while she continued to enjoy herself.

Flipping through the insect section lazily, Nika's eyes suddenly caught sight of a strange looking insect.

"Shino?"

"What is it?" he asked without turning around, examining a piece of foliage he was holding.

"What's this one?" She pointed to the sketched and colored picture of a largish insect that was a fire engine red in coloration. The Aburame put down the bit of vegetation and looked confused for a moment, holding his dirty hands up before him. Nika untied her blue bandana from her hip. "Use this," she held it out to him. Taking it and wiping his hands, he crouched in front of her to look at the book. She turned it sideways so they could both see.

"That's the Red Kikaichu. It's supposed to be extinct. Pity," he sounded almost wistful. "Pity, they live only where there are very large amounts of chakra, because they require large amounts of chakra to survive. They're very good ingredients in medicines because of that," he added. "Older Aburame's always talk of times when they would sometimes rear their own swarm or hive and cultivate them and use them for various reasons."

"Oh," Nika looked back at the drawing and eyed it speculatively. Knowing Nika very well, he waited for something else. "Well, I think I've seen this before,"

Shino stared.

"I'm serious. I used to see something that looked really close to this by several of my old…dens. Are there any other species that look similar?" She flipped through the book's entomology section quickly.

"None that are red," he informed. They both looked at the picture for awhile before Nika wondered what time it was. Looking toward the window, she saw that it was dark.

"Agh! Shino, what time is it?" She asked quickly. While Shino looked over at his digital clock on the table next to his bed, Nika began to mentally calculate what time it was. They arrived in Konoha at around three. It took them half an hour to wait for the Hokage, another twenty minutes to explain the situation, and some time before they could get paid. Then Shino had insisted upon walking her home, and that took half an hour. Then they walked to _his_ house, and they arrived at around 5:30….and they ate a very late lunch (was supposed to be an afternoon tea, but…) and then they spent some time in his room….alone. On cue, Chouko slid open Shino's door with a bewildered look on her face.

"Oh," her eyebrows shot up suspiciously. "So that's where you two were hiding." Nika slitted her eyes in annoyance, but she recognized that she no longer represented a threat to Chouko.

"We weren't hiding, mother. Is my clock right?" His mother peered at it from the doorway.

"Yes, it really is 7. Ah, I think Nika-kun should be leaving, it's dark already." Shino's brows furrowed. The mentioned Nakamura had already dusted herself off and put the book back on the shelf.

"I think so too, Aburame-san."

Shibi waited for them at the front door. He patted her head cuz he knew she hated it.

"Shino, walk her home,"

"Of course-"

"That's alright. I'm fine," interrupted Nika, tightening her headband that was slung around her neck.

"Don't be silly, bad men might….never mind, Shino." Shibi snickered at his own silliness. What man would bother Nika after seeing her fight in the Chuunin exams?

"I'm still walking you home," Shino followed her out the door after she had thanked them for the food.

"You're so bothersome," she complained, already at the gate. (She walks fast).

"Me? You're refusing to…." Shino silenced his uncharacteristic retort. She grinned at him, walking backwards so she faced him.

"Whazza matter, Shino? 'Bout to act un-Shino like?" she slanged, just to piss him off. He hunched deeper into his coat. They passed Ichiraku's ramen where many of the original rookie nine were currently egging Naruto on, who was attempting to eat a twentieth bowl of ramen in some sort of sick contest. Kiba waved at them to come and join, but both declined.

"Hm, seems he's not longer a statue Hinata," Kiba gruffly remarked to Hinata, who was eyeing Naruto bashfully.

"Hmm?"

"I said, Shino's become a love bug!" he stressed.

"Really?"

"Really," drawled the Inuzuka, poking Uzumaki Naruto with one of his chopsticks. "Naruto? Come on, you're being a wimp. You have at least five more to go!"

Neither Shino nor Nika heard this; they had already passed the ramen shop and were nearing the shopping district.

"Really, Shino. I'm a big girl, I've done this before," she sighed.

"Walking together is bonding, this is-"

"-Teamwork? I know, I know," she finished for him. She looked up at the very clear sky. It was late summer, and everyone was startled at how quickly it became dark again. Of course, this was a nice sky to go star gazing, as Nika was fond of doing. There was something very….calming and awesome about those little lights up there in the cosmos.

'There she goes, daydreaming while walking again. She's going to run into something or trip,' dryly thought Shino to himself. She blinked awake when she recognized the smell of fruit from the grocer. They'd arrived.

"Hm, thanks for inviting me over Shino. Sometime I'll show you my own library, although it's not as big," she frowned. Well, she'd have to fix that!

"No problem," he answered politely. Neither of them moved, and both became nervous. To Nika, this situation resembled every romantic movie that she'd ever suffered through: Where the boy walks the girl home, she thanks him for a lovely time, he kisses her and everything goes to hell after that. This was not welcome news to Nika, and in fact she began to feel like a rabbit being stalked by the wolf with the way Shino was staring at her. Suddenly it felt hotter than it really was. She gulped as quietly as she could. He kept on staring at her, as if expecting her to do something. Well, what? What did those round and dark shades want from her, hmm? She had to try something.

"Well, good night then,"

"Goodnight,"

Then it was silent.

"Sleep tight, don't let the kikaichu bite!" blurted Nika. She slapped the heel of her hand to her forehead after her outburst. Shino did not show any outward reactions, but Nika felt that an amused aura coming from his direction. Before he could walk forward to do anything rash, she jumped up onto her balcony like a cat and found him to be walking away in his usual steady, but slow pace towards home.

Completely relieved that he had not grabbed her and kissed her again (She really did not understand the concept of kissing at all, it was just two mouths wasn't it?) she went into her apartment that she adored to sleep off today's different events.

Narro: Okay, read and review people….I love those!


	5. Chapter 5

Narro: Okay, originally this part was supposed to be in chapter four, but it did not seem right at all to keep it there. Therefore, I cut Chapter four a little short. (Nods)

Kyouya: Excellent idea, Narro-kun. Today, I brought in Mori-sempai to read the disclaimer, is that okay?

Narro: Of course! (Likes Mori) Go for it Mori-sempai! (Thumbs up)

Mori: Ah…

Narro: (sweat drop) Ah….that's okay, I'll do it. I do not own Naruto, but I do own Nika. So back off!

All flames will be used to roast helpless little bunnies, so don't flame!

The loud thumping at her door was really annoying. Lazing about on the day after a long mission was always good because it made you treasure the moments you didn't have to work, according to the Nakamura.

Thump, thump!

"Ugh…" Of course, some people just didn't appreciate that.

**Thump, thump!**

"Okay! OKAY!" She kicked off her covers and in her pajamas (the knocker deserves it!) slid open her bedroom door, thumped to the front door and flung it open; revealing all of her pajama clad glory.

Poor Chouji.

"Uhm..." the chip was almost to his lips, but became frozen upon seeing his friend's apparel.

"Ah, Chouji…." Suddenly embarrassed, she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Hokage-sama wants to talk to you, Nika-kun. Preferably now, actually," he reported, now over the shock. The chips began disappearing again.

"Thanks. See you later Chouji," she called as he left her doorway. 'Now, now, now? I haven't even eaten breakfast yet!' she grumbled to herself. She jumped in and out of the shower, hopping on one foot and howling about how the water was cold (she had no time to wait for hot). 'I'm going to be cranky today…..I'm always cranky without my breakfast,' she told herself, zipping out of her window to keep from having to lock her door twice.

Tsunade rested her head on the palm of her hand, half heartedly reading a report that she had randomly pulled from the huge stack from the "IN" tray. Aburame Shibi and Aburame Shino were patiently waiting by her desk. Bright and early, they'd risen and come to their Hokage with some interesting news, interesting for the benefit of Konoha, quite possibly. The door opened and Nika entered without knocking, mildly surprised to see the Aburame's in attendance.

"Ah, whoops. I'll wait," she apologized, remembering that she should not take out her hunger on others. She began to back out and close the door when Tsunade spoke up.

"Get your butt back in here, Nakamura." She barked. Nika scowled but did as she was bid. She stood at the corner of her Hokage's desk, nearest to the "IN" tray. "Now, Aburame-san and Shino have made it apparent to me that you may have found a thought to be extinct insect," Tsunade looked at the kunoichi from over the stack of papers, not quite sure why an insect is important. However, knowing how serious the Aburame clan is, she would have to bet it was something worth listening to.

Annoyed, Nika's eyes slid to the corner of her eye to glare at Shino, who was his usual taciturn self. _He _was the one who had caused all of this commotion; therefore, he was the cause of her hunger. 'I really don't like him,' she thought to herself meanly.

"I don't have one; I've just seen them around when I was younger. A whole nest of them in some places," Shibi's ears metaphorically pricked up at this news. An excited tone leaked into his voice.

"Hokage-sama, Red Kikaichu are very valuable," Tsunade's interest sparked. She leaned forward.

"Go on,"

"They are used in medicines. Crush them, use their exoskeleton that they shed, use their eggs, pretty much anything about them is very useful for treatments of many types of ailments. Aburame's used to sometimes harvest them, but stopped because of their demand for high levels of chakra," explained the elder Aburame. "Because they eat large amounts of chakra, they store it and this in turn has healing properties which transfer to a patient who, oh…I don't know, has a cut? Make a salve from its outer skin or eggs and you have a very potent cut healer. Although, I would suggest using such a powerful property like the Red Kikaichu's on more extreme cases," he added quickly.

Tsunade's eyes blazed with money signs, and once again Nika felt that impending danger feeling that she always got when she was assigned to a mission she might not like. She referred to them as her, "Spidey senses," just to piss off Shino.

"Shizune, get me a map," and somehow hearing this command from the hallway, Shizune appeared carting an assortment of maps ranging from the size of a book to the size of a largish poster. Tsunade looked up at Shibi and Shino. "Do you two have a picture of what this insect looks like?" Her hands found the scrolled map that she was looking for and spread it out on her desk, recklessly shoving a pile of papers to the floor. Many blobs of color swirled about the scroll, making Nika dizzy before she could focus her sight enough to distinguish the shapes scribed onto the scroll. Everyone leaned forward to look. It was a map of Konoha, and of the whole fire country with some of their neighbor's land mixed in. Shibi dug into his huge pocket and pulled out a copy of the drawing Nika had found in the encyclopedia at Shino's last night.

"This is the Red Kikaichu. It's bright red color and larger size is very distinct, I doubt Nika-kun could have mistaken it," Shibi smiled at Nika, who looked uneasy. Tsunade studied the picture and then looked over at the kunoichi, a curve of a smile shadowing her mouth.

"Show where you found the hive or swarms or whatever it is that you saw," Nika's brow furrowed. Showing them meant showing where her old den was, and she really didn't like that. People may think it's stupid, but when you're on your own as a child, you get into the habit of keeping your home a secret from everyone. Tsunade's amber eyes narrowed, and Nika hastily looked to the drawing. She pointed to a spot about a quarter between Konoha and Suna, right smack dab in the middle of the forest.

"This is about it, the map doesn't show land marks, so I could be a mile or so off," she commented. "There's also an old temple where I've seen them…." She sighed, and pointed it out, a couple of inches away from the first point. Having seen enough, Tsunade looked up at all three shinobi.

"Aburame-sama! Aburame Shino! Nakamura Nika! Your mission today will be to retrieve a couple of these Red Kikaichu, and bring them back. If they require large amounts of chakra, then only take a few. Aburame-sama, you're in charge, but you'll have to have Nika lead the way," Tsunade looked at Nika's infuriated expression. "Is there…something the matter, Nakamura?" Tsunade's voice dropped, deadly and expressing future pain, so Nika shook her head in the negative. "Hm, you're all dismissed for today, then."

Nika strode out of the room quickly, feeling her body tighten with both anger and fear. She really did not like the idea of going back to that hell hole, the place where she spent her earliest years as a cub. The old temple was a different story entirely, but that would have to be visited after her old den. The Aburames followed behind her, quiet. The morning was very pretty, but promised humidity. Nika flapped the top of her coat several times to ventilate her already sticky skin. Of course, the Aburame members would be stifling in their coats, but they'd die before admitting it.

"Nika-kun, since it's only a day mission we don't need much gear. I already brought along some terrariums for the actual collecting process. We can leave right now," suggested Shibi. Nika nodded and followed them both towards the gates of Konoha, avoiding eye contact. Still early, only a few people were out and about; mainly grocers and Shinobi getting ready for their early morning training. She hung back a little behind the two tall men, musing about how she would feel once she set foot back in her old territory. Her hair on the back of her neck stood up, old memories of screaming her anger till her throat burned flared up. Shaking her head and not paying attention, she bumped into a tall body and woke up from her musings only to find an amused Shibi, waiting for her to take the lead.

"Ah, sorry," she apologized quickly. At his gentle nod, she hopped into the nearest tree, waiting a moment for them to catch up, and began her course towards "home".

Hopping from tree to tree was never really boring. If you forgot where you were, you'd begin to "sink" in the air because you're not touching down every now and again with a tree limb, thus shaking you awake.

The silence that accompanied with her two comrades was annoying, so she was relieved when Shibi called out to her.

"Nika-kun, you seem so angry," Good old Shibi: caring, easy to get along with when he's not pretending to be serious, and always there to break silences.

"My old den..." feeling Shino's eyes on her, she corrected herself, "My old home, I should say, it holds bad memories for me. But, what the Hokage says, Nika does," she tried to sound cheerful. Lapsing back into silence, they continued on their way for maybe twenty more minutes. When Shino started spotting old and small sized claw marks slashed on seemingly random trees, Nika began to feel herself freak out. She spent six years of her life at this place, screaming and crying her soul out because she was alone, no one to help her or talk to her. She went crazy, perhaps literally. No, she should stop kidding herself. She knew the isolation had driven her psycho. Little by little, she lost that unstableness with help from a few people who actually sat down and conversed with her. Every day she thanked the sky for those people.

"Are we close?" Shino lengthened his jumps so he was just behind and to the left of her. 'How does he keep his balance with his hands in his pockets? At least his father didn't have that annoying habit,' Nika thought, still angry with Shino's more or less indirect ploy which took away her breakfast.

The rhythmic pattern of trees began to soothe her, much to her relief. It was just a place; it couldn't do anything to her. Unless she forgot where she had those booby traps set out…

"Yes. Along the side we're entering on, the trees form a sort of closed wall. When we jump through them, be careful and watch your step. I used to set up traps," she hastily informed them, aware of their approaching destination. That got their attention.

"What sort of traps? Oh, is that it right there?" Shibi pointed, coming along side her right, mirroring his son. There was a sort of gathering of older trees that formed something resembling a wall or barrier. There were slips between the trees that were big enough for even a large man to jump through. The moss carpeting the trunks gave the impression of the trees retaining a green pigment in their bark.

"Yes. Oh you know, a big log falling on your head….kunai flying at you, that kind," she teased. There was a sudden break of trees in front of them. "Okay, jump!" And she soared into the clearing. Landing heavier than she would have liked, she blinked behind her, dazed. The Aburame men landed without a problem; however they snagged a trap trigger on their way in, thanks to their bulky coats. Shino nonchalantly deflected the kunai that flew at his face. All at once, they were surrounded by dummy men made of logs and painted with angry mud faces. Nika sheepishly kicked at one of them, knocking the dummy man off it's base.

"They're to…ah, scare people. That big rock formation over there? I think they hang out under one of those boulders near the back," she pointed. It was basically just slabs of rock slanted against each other, with an entrance that was small enough for a young child to enter and exit easily. Nika suspected that it once housed wolves, because she never could get the canine smell out of it, no matter how much she aired it out. The clearing was mostly round towards their end, but it became irregular on the opposite side, and did not host a protective barrier like with the trees. The ground had become overgrown with tufts of sharp grass that grew where feet no longer trampled regularly. Rocks dotted the space haphazardly, giving the area an abandoned look about it. Shibi already started toward the rock formation, pointedly ignoring his surroundings. His son did not follow suite.

Shino tried very hard to ignore the obvious signs of distress that was circled around him. There were claw marks that slashed across nearly every tree. They were obviously made by someone humanoid; there were five claw marks, and most animals only had four digits they used regularly. And his kikaichu smelled very strong emotions emanating from the mouth of the little rock den, it almost repelled him like a force field of scent.

Nika looked at the boulder that was taller than Shibi with determination. Shibi looked worried.

"Ah, Nika. Don't worry, Shino and I can…wow," Nika shoved the boulder up with her shoulder, lifting it an inch and a half and then pushed it over a bit. Immediately, the hugest bug she ever saw flew at her face and landed neatly, tucking its wings back. The legs spanned out across her cheeks, covering her entire countenance. She twitched. Shibi threw his head backwards and roared with laughter, startling the insect enough to make him fly off quickly. She covered her face, red with embarrassment. Through her fingers, she counted out twelve insects. Shino and Shibi immediately bustled over and butted her out of the conversation, speaking of bug things and theories that Nika was unconcerned about right now.

It was much cooler in the forest than in the village, the canopies of huge, old and faithful trees saw to that. Feeling herself settle down, she took a swig from her canteen. She just as quickly spat it out.

"Bah, I hate warm water," she grumped. She leaned over both Aburames shoulders to see what they were doing. Crouched down next to each other, they examined the specimens. Shibi's face was very similar to a child who discovers a stash of candy in the kitchen they're not supposed to know about.

"Shino, this will bring us much respect in our clan, and in our village. And they're in _such_ good condition! They were here all along, and we didn't even see!" energetic emotion filled his voice, and he swept his hands over the small nest of Red Kikaichu. The insects didn't seem to mind, but instead flocked over to the people.

"Aren't insects supposed to run away from beings bigger than it?" Nika wondered aloud, leisurely resting her elbow on Shino's shoulder audaciously. Shino noted this, but chose to ignore it and instead was considering which insect to take with them. He opened a terrarium and waited for his father's opinion.

"Yes, most do. But Red Kikaichu, as I've said before, eat large amounts of chakra. Three shinobi would be very appetizing. We won't have any problems taking one or two," Shibi explained. He pointed out a very large female to his son. "This one, she'll be a good breeder. We'll only take one male, there's another location that we need to visit, ne, Nika-kun?" Shibi smiled, and Nika was suddenly shaken by how weird it was seeing and older version of Shino's face smiling at her. Of course, Shino doesn't have any facial hair.

'Wait, does he? Maybe he shaves…?' Nika's fingers twitched, but she managed to suppress the urge to touch her comrade's face to see if there was any stubble.

'Wait, of course he doesn't have any stubble, she would have noticed by then. Then again…' She blinked to find Shibi waiting for her, expectantly.

"Ah….yes, one more," she hastily responded, late. She really needed to stop thinking about Shino like that. It was….disturbingly distracting. She woke from her musings again to find Shibi nearly dancing on his tip toes, proclaiming that the Red Kikaichu were the most beautiful things on six legs he's seen in years (his own kikaichu buzzed in indignation).

"Nika-kun, this is all thanks to you! C'mere!" With that, the grinning madly Aburame Shibi enveloped Nika in his arms and hugged her silly. Shino nearly dropped the terrarium.

"Father!"

"Sbiii-saahhhnn! Eewuuf!" her voice was muffled against his huge coat. Her arms flapped out to the sides helplessly.

"Just call me Shibi-daddy, my future daughter in law! Shino, marry this girl! The bugs have spoken!" Shibi's eyebrows were lightly arched perfectly; there were no laugh lines or wrinkles crinkling to suggest he was joking in the least.

He should have been an actor, Shibi thought absently.

Shino leaned his forehead against a tree trunk, brows furrowed together in both humiliation and anger. His father should not drink coffee….kikaichu bugs cannot break down caffeine or sugar very well. Shibi smiled down at the two teenagers. Eighteen years old and you'd think they could handle a little bit of teasing, but he guessed not. He was still hugging Nika, but she seemed quite content to hide her face in his coat.

"Shibi-san, it's not funny to joke," she mumbled. He smiled and patted her head, mindful of her ears.

"Let's go," Shino's deep voice quivered. He could not yell at his father, or scold him for saying something so silly. Wordlessly, Nika let Shibi's coat go and beckoned them to a different side of the clearing, not looking back at her old den.

Shino carried the terrarium with the two thought to be extinct kikaichu gingerly. Though they were supposedly hardy, he'd rather not bruise them. A thin layer of fine sand, some small woodchips and foliage would keep them cushioned and occupied for the remainder of the trip until they could be given a proper home at the Aburame house.

"We're heading towards the temple?" Shino asked Nika, who slowed down for the two Aburames. It seems that they prefer the, "slowly but surely" theory when running.

"Yes," she answered over her shoulder. "I recall there being a lot more of the insects by the temple, and now I understand why," she grinned. Shino quirked and eyebrow at her, but she refused to answer the unspoken question: why?

Nika felt very excited. She missed the person who lived at the temple dearly, and hoped he would not be so very mad at her for running away when she was eleven. At that age, she had felt the strongest urge to just _go_. Anywhere, do something, be somebody. She had a few adventures before finding her way to Konoha, she could tell you!

"Nika-kun! Slow down! I'm old!" called Shibi from behind. 'Whoops!'

"Sorry!" She stopped on a branch, but her fingers drummed impatiently at her hips. 'Tch! They take so long. I pity the woman who marries an Aburame, they take forever to do anything,' she growled inwardly. The men caught up and Nika was about to turn around to lead when she looked down, startled. 'Okay, so we're here already? Jeez, I need to pay attention,' Nika scolded. She dropped down next to a pile of stones that once made up a sort of gate, but now only served as markers for the front entrance. A very large, old and rusting bell hung supported by two beams. An instrument that was made of carved stone that swelled at the end lay on what was left of one of the stone gate. The temple itself looked worse for wear, but still standing with its solid stone.

"Why would there be any Red Kikaichu here?" Shino picked up the instrument next to the bell. Nika took it from him-rather rudely, according to him- and happily swung it at the massive bell.

Slightly out of tune, but effective!

A whoosh of cloth and a tall man appeared at the top of the steps.

"What brings visitors to my humble abode?" His voice traveled in a sort of wave, due to the distance and his height. Shibi wondered what he should say, because he had no idea what they were doing.

Nika smiled sheepishly.

"Mito-ojiki!" she called to him with a confident voice, but she made sure to remember where Shibi was standing, lest she need to use him as a human shield.

Mito blinked.

"Nika-kun?"

She nodded. He fairly flung himself from the top steps towards her, arms open wide. Suddenly emboldened by this gesture, she stepped away from safety and waited for her hug.

**BAAAM!!**

"OW!!!!!" Her head nearly touched the dirt from the blow. Mito snapped shut his huge fan as she clutched her head. Noticing both Aburame's poised for battle, she halfheartedly waved them off. "Its fine, he was just-"

"Punishing you for running away? For stealing from me? For not giving me a goodbye?" suggested Mito, dark brown bangs blowing in the light breeze. Her ears went flat against her head in shame. 'Dammnit, I feel like a child again,' she mumbled to herself. Shino's eyebrows were furrowed, and not at all pleased with how Mito greeted his long lost charge. Naturally Mito noticed, and decided Nika had been scolded enough for today and resumed his nice guy persona.

"Nika-kun, introduce me to your comrades," he instructed. She stood ramrod straight and politely introduced everyone to each other.

"Mito-ojiki, we're here for those really big red bugs we used to have to fight off from the kitchen," she explained. He eyed the Aburame's headbands.

"Oh?"

"Yes, it's called a Red Kikaichu. We only need a few to take," continued Shibi, indicating that Shino should show Mito the terrarium with the other two.

"Hm, I see. You're free to take them, just don't bother the children," he allowed, waving for them to follow. Nika's head turned this way and that, drinking in old memories that were slowly being dredged up from the pool of her mind.

"How many are you taking care of now?"

"Only seven. I'm glad, I can't afford anymore," admitted Mito, rubbing the back of his bare neck.

"You have seven children?" whistled Shibi.

"Not my own, I take care of orphans I find. Nika-kun," he ruffled her hair roughly despite her affectionate protest, "was my first orphan," Nika quickly sped-walked towards a large tree that did not seem any different than from any other tree.

"It's hollow, see?" She knocked against the wood, and an empty 'thk!' was heard from inside the trunk. "This is where their nest is,"

Shino, quieter than usual (If that's possible), put his ear to the trunk to listen for the rustling of insects. Shibi held out his hand and a few of his own kikaichu sat on his palm, to which he looked at in concentration. Nika pushed Mito out of the way.

"I'm not the insect experts, they are. I'm just leading the way," she remarked at his look. "Best leave them be so we don't get in the way," Mito stuffed his hands into his very large blue sleeves that were not attached to any shirt. They stood watching the bug users in comfortable silence. After a few minutes though, Nika called attention to Shibi.

"Are they hiding?" At his annoyed nod, she tilted her head up at the tree speculatively. "I don't suppose you can just tell them to come out, huh?" Despite his irritation at not being able to flush out the Reds with his own kikaichu, Shibi smiled.

"Let me help," cut in Mito, walking over to the tree trunk. He put his hand on the bark and made a sort of half hand seal, much to the surprise of everyone except Nika.

"He's a shinobi, Nika-kun?" Shino asked quietly, after she approached his side to get a better look at Mito, who was now glowing a lovely blue from concentrating chakra.

"Yep, that's why I said it made sense for the Reds to be here. Mito-ojiki has a large amount of chakra," she whispered back. A flurry of red winged insects chattered from a little knot near one of the tree's branches, and eventually swarmed towards Mito once they identified him as the chakra source. There were certainly more than the last nest, this nest had at least twenty individuals.

Shibi picked a few up and examined them. "These are a little better than the ones we found at Nika-kun's old den. Since they have a mostly steady stream of chakra to feed on, they have bred more carelessly," he touched his finger to the parting between the insects wings and it obligingly spanned them for him to inspect. Shino joined them, making sure to keep the terrarium near.

"Thanks for the help, Mito-ojiki," grinned Nika.

"No problem," he assured her. A young voice called out for him from the back, so he excused himself. Watching him move away, she recalled how stupid she'd been for forgetting all about Mito-ojiki and the orphans. Speaking of….

"Hey! Mito-ojiki said it's not okay for you to put me in a headlock, Nika-sempai!" complained Teppei, waving his thing arms around like a windmill.

"Nika-kun, what are you doing" Shino's eyebrows were furrowed again. Bah!

"Just saying hello! So, Teppei-chan, twelve years old and you're still skinny as a sapling's limb," she teased him. He glared. Ignoring this, she continued, "So, what do you guys need, hmm?"

"Huh?"

"Food, clothes?" Teppei's green eyes shifted towards the back where the nursery was. Mito was proud; he may not appreciate her donations.

"Food, blankets we're fine on. Clothes are no problem either. Some pillows and books for the kids who can read would be good too," he added hopefully. She released him from her headlock and he went running past a returning Mito who now carried a young female toddler in his large arms. She was sniffling, and looked distressed.

"Tch, now I remember why I ran off; I am not comfortable with young children, they suffocate me," grumped Nika, leaning up against a tree.

"You'd make a horrible mother," flatly retorted Mito, but affectionately patted the little girls cheeks. At his former charge's blank look, he quickly changed topics. "You are a ninja now?"

"Yes, Chuunin,"

"Hm," he rather did not like the idea, but he could do nothing about it and the job suited her anyway. Shibi collected two more kikaichu than he thought he would take, and had Shino put them in the terrarium carefully. Some bugs did not get along with other bugs, even if they were the same species. However, nothing seemed amiss and the bugs seemed quite calm.

"You were a ninja at one time, weren't you, Mito-sama?" inquired Shibi, dusting off his hands.

"Yes, but I, like Nika, ran away. I felt the methods used for picking through the weaker ninja's were….immoral," Mito's voice went dark, differing from his usual laid back and cheery manner. Everyone was quiet for a moment.

"Nika-kun stole something from you?" This time, Shino spoke. Said kunoichi flushed.

Mito put down the girl delicately, patted her bottom in the direction of the nursery and sent her off.

"Yes. She was supposed to receive it for her birthday, but she decided to take it early so she could run off," frowned her adopted uncle severely. Nika suddenly felt uneasy as he reached out his hand toward her. "Give it back, I know you're carrying it," he ordered.

"….Fine…." her shoulders slumped in defeat. After all, she sort of _did_ steal it from him, even if it were meant for her from the beginning. She pulled her staff from her back and watched Mito snatch it up, and inspect it shrewdly.

"Your staff wasn't yours?" Shibi tilted his head, confused.

"It was to be her birthday present. From me to her," clarified Mito idly. Nika sighed, already missed the weight across her back. Finding a way to hide such a long weapon had its challenges. She managed to do it usually by wearing her flowy and oversized white coat, but other times she had to use the staffs own ability to fold in half. Usually this would not be a problem, but unfolding it in battle was time consuming.

Waking up from her revere, she realized Shino and Shibi had sort of drifted away from her and Mito, and were in the general direction of Konoha. Ah, the subtleness of men…

"I must leave, Mito-ojiki," she opened her arms hopefully. He tried to stare her down, but grinned forgivingly. They embraced, while Mito informed her he figured she'd run away anyway, so he wasn't really mad…only trying to embarrass her in front of her comrades. Mito walked her back to the boys, who were looking everywhere other than her. Aburames seem to believe in expressing emotion in front of no one, unless you're with people who you're comfortable with. This would explain why Shibi found it none to difficult to hug Nika in front of his own son.

"Here, Nika-baka, have your present back," Mito presented it back to her. Breathing in relief, she snatched it back and quickly slid it into its thin case on her back.

"Thanks, I've grown attached to it," she smiled at him. He started to smile back, but suddenly remembered something. He started to say but Shino cut in.

"Nika, we should get going. It'll be dusk by the time we reach home," the kunoichi looked upwards at the sky and blinked. 'Where has my day gone?'

"Sure," with a wave, they started back east.

"Wait. Nika, you should know something before you head off in that direction," something in Mito's voice made her stop walking.

"Hm?"

"There've been a lot of younger lions roaming this area lately. And it's….ah," for a moment, Mito looked relatively embarrassed, "it's…_their time_," he finished lamely. Nika's ear twitched.

'Crap. Crap, crap!'

"Alright, I'll let my comrades know…take care," and with that the shinobi vanished into the night!

Not really. They merely just started home, with Nika assuming the lead again. Going at least twenty minutes before anything was said, Shibi cut the silence again.

"What was your friend telling you about time, Nika-kun?" Shibi kept pace with her now.

"Ah….the young lions have come into the time of their lives when they're able to produce young. So, we're going to be cutting straight through a bunch of hormonal teenage lions who think it's cool to show off. Plus, they're not good hunters quite yet, so they're going to be hungry and out for a reason to jump people passing through," she growled. Shibi smiled weakly. From over her shoulder, Shino looked quite annoyed. Looking for a way to reassure him, she bit her lip. "It's okay. With my ears, I'll know if any ever get clo" SCRAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSH!!!

Shards of wood splintered about the air, as they were all tossed from their respective tree limbs. Hundreds of sharp teeth gleamed with saliva below. Out of the corner of Nika's eye, she caught sight of a small trickle of blood dotting Shino's ankle as she fell down into the dark shadow where a posse of young, hot blooded lions waited. Shibi rightened himself much quicker than the two chuunins, but Shino also managed despite his foot.

"Where'd Nika fall?!" Lions were pouring out from behind trees, from beneath them. There must have been thirty of them; such numbers were unheard of in nature. Shino pointed down, grimly. The Reds were still secure in his terrarium, if a bit shaken up. "Don't let the Reds go, Shino, whatever you do! Tsunade-sama will _kill_ us if these pussy cats don't!" His son hopped his way over to his father, much to the amusement of several of the beasts.

It was quite obvious they were in fact young. The males had very small manes, and were still rather on the small side, with youngish curves of the facial features. They were quickly surrounded, and stared at mercilessly.

They obviously did not know who they were dealing with, as the Aburame's have never lost a staring contest in centuries. (The author giggles).

Sadly, lions are quite adept at working together during hunts; their coordination was communicated in ways that the Aburames had no idea existed, and this would be quite a problem for them.

Shino didn't think that kunai would help them very much here.

Quite suddenly, six of the larger lions reared up on their haunches and sprang at both men. Hands blurring, Shibi performed the well practiced hand seal.

"_Mushi Kame no Jutsu!_" (Bug Jar Jutsu) His kikaichu swarmed out in a black cloud of buzzing terror. They quickly came into position and formed a massive swirling dome around the two bug users. Repelled violently, all six males were flung away into various trees, and did not move for quite some time. The remaining females rolled their eyes and simply trusted their instincts: look for the weak spot. And of course, when you're on a tree branch up in the air, there's no ground beneath you. So, there was space beneath them that was not protected by the kikaichu. Sprinting madly, clinging to the bark, they all dove under and up, claws extended. Blood lust glowed in the eyes of the huntresses.

Shibi commanded his kikaichu to work quickly and break the dome. They flew in separated dark clouds at all the females, driving them back but not fully repelling them. In smaller swarms, they could not do much more than hit them once and fall back. Shino clipped the terrarium onto a leather strap and slung it around his shoulder and neck. He called up his own kikaichu to back up his father's insects, which began to form into a larger swarm.

The females were quite awed by this, even going as far as to widen their eyes so their pupils dilate to pinpricks. The men paused, unsure of their fear. 'Did the first attack sway them this much?'

TCH!

TCH!

TCH!

The sound of breaking bark!

"**Hrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…"** A hot wind blew on their backs. Slowly, they turned their heads to find a rather large set of fangs, and a creased, angry face of a lioness…with red rimming her bottom lidded eyes.

"N…NIKA-KUN?" Her ears were back, clearly pissed. Her claws dug into the tree they were perched on. She was quite large, larger than the others, including the males.

"**Move**," the voice was deep, and authoritive. Her black lips had to pull back awkwardly to form human words over sharp teeth. They shifted closer to her. Hind feet pushing from the tree, she sort of jumped a curve and landed in front, putting herself in-between them and the lionesses.

"Shino, did you know she could do that?" He whispered near his son's ear, hands on his shoulders so he could support his bad foot. Shino's head barely moved, but Shibi knew it was a shake, 'no'.

Some sort of conversation was going on, most likely it was all in body language and low sounds that came from Nika-Lioness's throat. Her "hackles" were standing straight up, and her teeth never seemed to retreat behind her lip. The heated atmosphere suggested an argument.

Something impudent was said, and Nika reared her head in indignation.

Her mouth opened very wide and let out a sky cracking roar. The other beasts scattered back into the brush.

"Well, Nika-kun. I don't think the gods quite heard you, maybe you should repeat yourself in a more clear tone," Shibi teased. The lioness did a sort of grin from over her shoulder, but quickly turned back into a snarl. She threw herself nearly on top of the two men, pulling them into the cage of her arms.

A full grown male stood across from them on a separate tree. He seemed quite at ease with himself, not cocky but confident. His face expressed happiness and an invitation. His head tilted forward, nose upwards somewhat, and his mouth forming a black 'O' which was followed by a low bellow issued from the male. Nika blinked. To reassure herself, she leaned her cheek against Shino, reminding herself that she was human, not beast, with his scent. The male leaned forward and repeated his offer, purring up a few other compliments to seal the deal.

"What is he saying, Nika-kun?" Shibi asked quietly, noticing her fur stand on end. Her tail switched side to side, a typical pissed off cat maneuver.

She answered him in the negative.

He repeated his offer, from a closer distance. Closer meaning the same tree she was currently perched awkwardly on protecting two human males. Her warnings reverberated through the tree, suddenly possessive over the two men currently caged between her chest and forepaws. The male passed his glance from her to the two humans in distaste.

"_**Why are you protecting what could be our meal?"**_

"_**Because they are mine," **_Inside, she blushed at that. They weren't hers, but she couldn't think of a way to explain that to this stranger. His persistence and sweet talk didn't help her appreciate him, either.

"_**Come, let's start a pride. These two aren't worth our time. Come with me,"**_ the male was quite insistent. However, their insult to the Aburame men felt like an insult to her.

Shino wasn't quite sure what had happened, or who instigated the fight first, but he did know he never wanted to piss Nika off when she was in this new form of hers. Although the male managed to throw her off the tree branch, she was still a trained fighter.

The fight ended quickly, with her only suffering a scratch on her rump. Unfortunately, she had to use several fire attacks that emitted from her mouth, so the area was quite scorched.

Both Aburame men had moved to another tree that was less…damaged. Nika had protected them both from having their skin torn off from the last male, but the tree branch did not fare quite so well. The Nakamura hopped onto another branch across from them and watched them very carefully. 'I am not quite sure if they are frightened of me, or unsure,' she thought uneasily. This form felt like she had come home from a long journey, she knew it almost as well as her own skin. However, if it made Shino or Shibi-san uncomfortable, she'd have to find a way to force her out of the form….but how?

"**Do I alarm you?"** Her voice sounded gravelly, and her face showed distress at how difficult it was to speak now. Her throat was on fire.

"Of course not," Shibi admonished, and waved her over. Grateful to be accepted, she lightly followed his direction. She was about to motion that they should start to leave before more came back, but she remembered the wound on Shino's ankle. She dipped her enormous head down near his feet to inspect the wound.

"Nika, it's only a flesh wound," he flatly reported. She did not listen to him however, and only creased the fur between her eyes in worry. 'They do not understand…'

Shibi watched her press her cold and possibly wet nose against his son's ankle in amusement. If these two didn't get married, he owed Chouko 3000 ryo. Of course, the money meant little to him, but it would be nice to wave it in his wife's I-know-more-than-thou-about-romance face. It would also be nice to have another member in the Aburame family who had her sense of humor…really, some of his relatives needed to relax a bit.

"I believe we should leave, who knows if they'll come back?" suggested Shibi loudly, to drown out his son's rejections of Nika's medical expertise (joke). Nika nodded energetically, and jerked her head to the right, indicating they should head that way.

"Alright, we'll go that way then…..why?" Shibi looked perplexed for a moment, not familiar with that direction. Nika's jaw worked around a bit to fish for the fastest way to say what she wanted to say.

"**River,"** it came out a sort of cough.

"Her throat is hurting her, she wants water I think, Father," Shino indirectly translated for his comrade. She looked pleased, but suddenly her ears pricked and swiveled in many directions. Hastily, they packed up the Reds who had remained mostly unperturbed through out the whole mess.

Nika nudged Shino and crouched next to him, making movements to suggest he climb on. Shino did not look pleased.

"Nika…."

"Ugh, Shino. My son, we have no time for this," scolded Shibi impatiently, which was very rare for Shibi. A little burned by his father's annoyance, Shino very stiffly climbed onto her back. They moved quickly, following Nika's indicated direction. Reaching the river was no problem; the problem was wondering when the lions would make their next cameo appearance.

Narro: Okay, I have to cut it off here because it's starting to irritate me. Bad spot to cut it off, but I'm tired of chapter five, to tell you the truth. Anyway, here is chapter five.

Also, I would like to thank OxKing for his lovely reviews that made my heart cry out in joy. If OxKing is reading this, I huggle j00. I huggle j00 mucho.

P.S. To all my other reviewers, you're cool too.

Kyouya: Well, now no one's going to like you. You've insulted them, Narro-kun.

Narro: BAH!


	6. Chapter 6

Narro: Mmmkay, wow. I started writing this chapter in my notebook and…39 pages…OO; Of course, it wont be that long since I'm typing up but still….

Kyouya: That happens, Narro-kun. Especially since you have large and…untidy handwriting.

Narro: …..I'd fire you if I didn't need you so badly. O

Kyouya: Yes, I am aware.

Disclaimer Sign I do not own Naruto, but I do own Nika, and all other OC's therein. Flaming will result in a very bad tongue lashing…..and think about it, do you really want my tongue to be lashing you?

Kyouya: shudder

Narro: Hm…anyway, to some of you who play Guilty Gear, you may recognize um….similarities between Mito and Mito Anji from GG. ; I love Anji, and I could not help but incorporate much of his personality (and his weapons of choice and style of dressing) into the first father figure Nika had ever known. Well, anyway…the story.

The cool morning breeze rustled several leaves across the stone floors of the old temple. The irritating sound woke up Mito, which sucked because he didn't get enough sleep as it is. 'Still, I'd better get a head start on chores…I really should make those kids chip in more often,' he grumped to himself. He hauled his butt out of bed and passed through the large entrance onto the rocky front stoop. He started to stretch out his arms, but a smudge on the edge of his vision turned his attention. He squinted. 'Was that a wagon?'

Indeed it was, and was loaded to bursting with bundles. Suspiciously, he approached and gave the wheel a solid kick. Not that any bandit would be intelligent enough to set a trap so elaborate as this, but still.

He gingerly lifted the canvas that covered the lumpy protrusions and packages and nearly dropped it again.

Inside was an array of goods: blankets, books, packages of dried food, and a manila envelope that had a bulging bank note form inside it.

In spite of his burning pride (Really, he could take care of everything!), Mito smiled. 'Nika, you idiot…'

The scratch of a fine pen scribbling away on well made paper is a pleasing sound. A pleasing sight is beautiful handwriting on beautiful paper, so elegantly written.

Sadly, Nika did not posses an elegant hand, and this book she was attempting to author was going nowhere.

Her Muse was nowhere to be found, having eloped with her Genius. That left her only with Blonde and Ninja, two who did not get along well together. Just this morning, she hit her head on the cabinet door when she was fixing herself a bowl of cereal. She also tripped getting out of bed. How one trips getting out of bed, she did not know.

'What I really need right now,' she mused, 'is a good distraction.'

She sat at her desk in her room, in the corner next to her twin sliding doors. Rusty, near afternoon light filtered through her window. She could usually count on Chouji for a distraction; he would take her to visit Shikamaru, and they would snack, chat a little and watch the clouds amble by. Shikamaru's complaints about being involved with the Chuunin exams were priceless.

However, Chouji and Ino were on an escort mission and were not expected back for some time.

She breathed out a frustrated sigh. She thought that writing a non-fiction piece on Big Cats would be easy, once she figured out exactly how she wanted it to play out.

The kunoichi was just thinking about what she was going to do for lunch when she swiveled her ears to catch a certain set of footsteps. 'Hm, what's he doing in my neck of the woods?' She set down her brush and ink, and pushed away from her desk gratefully. Peering between her curtains, she arched her eyebrows. Shino. He walked steadily, fists in his pockets. Perhaps he was just walking through to Kiba's. Or, Chouko-san sent him for some random ingredient from the market. But, no. He turned and crossed the threshold, and started climbing up the dark stairway that led to the second floor apartments. 'He's always got to be coming to hang around, doesn't he?'

She contemplated how to approach this. Should she wait till he knocked, or open the door and wait for him? Why was he paying her a call anyway? During her musings, Shino knocked his knuckles against her door.

Turning away from the window, she somehow landed on her face.

"Aw, crap!" she roared out.

There was a moment of quiet, and then another knock.

"In a minute!" she gasped, suddenly spotting a pile of dirty unmentionables squatting on her living room floor. Wriggling her way over, she threw them into the hamper in the linen room and padded to her door. She leaned over her genkan (the cement area where you put your shoes) and hastily opened the door. Her guest stood, stiff backed at her threshold.

"What's up?" Shino said nothing, only looked at her leanings precariously from her door. "Ah, come in, Shino," she left the door open and motioned for him to come. He shut the door behind him, took off his zori and found the kunoichi sprawled out on her mountain of pillows, treating it as a throne.

"I'm here to invite you to lunch, my mother requests you come," Shino's deep voice was not muffled by his hood or high collar.

"Lunch?" 'What interesting timing…' "Your _mother_ invited me?"

"Yes, she did," something in his tone made her look up. He sounded a little off.

"Hm, I accept, I guess," she began. She glanced at her clock, quickly, ears pointed forward in thought. "Let me change, alright?" she lumbered up.

"Fine," he sat down at her low table. She kept one traditional table in her living room/dining room and one western style in her kitchen.

Nika slid her doors shut and dressed rapidly. Her tank top was replaced by a long sleeved shirt with a crew neck. She considered the coolness of outside and then replaced her shorts with some long cargos. She found her comrade right where she left him, predictably.

They were halfway out of the door when she wondered aloud whether she needed to bring any food as an offering.

"I don't think so," was his reply as he gingerly stepped down the stairs. The stairs were usually harmless, but Nika claimed they could be tricky. She had a habit of speaking of inanimate objects with personalities.

Naturally, Nika began to feel that familiar anxiety wake up in her stomach. She was always a little weird about going to other people's houses, she never felt very comfortable. Her stomach lurched, suddenly yearning for the safety of her own dwelling.

"Is there something wrong?"

"…No…" her shoulders slumped, feeling a little ill. She'd cut off her right arm before admitting her little fear to Shino, of course. Shibi, she could handle. He was always in a good mood when not in public. 'Aburame code must dictate acting like a tight ass in public,' she amused herself with this thought. Shino went a little too far, even in the comfort of his own room he was a brick wall. Going back to her anxiety, she was bothered about Chouko, Shino's mother. She was the typical mother of an only child, the "how dare you try to take my son away from me!" kind. Of course, Nika has informed her of the fact that her son was not even dating her, and she had no interest in, "frisking him away, never to be seen again by his loved ones." 'Tch, there's a funny thought…..someone frisking _Shino_ away!'

Still, she frowned. Sometimes Shino did act as if they were an item. Specifically, when he went all goofy (not literally, cuz that'd just be disturbing) and kissed her. 'What game did he think he was playing? Bah! Men; can't live with 'em and you can't live without 'em….they keep finding their way back.' It then occurred to her that maybe Shino was under the impression that they were dating?

Impossible! She'd clearly refused him, and wanted only his companionship as a friend.

They swung around the Aburame front gate, and Nika's nervous butterflies were suddenly alive again.

"It's just lunch, right, Shino?" her voice was high.

"Yes, I have a feeling they want to say something," he rumbled, taking off his zori stiffly.

"Mm…" she murmured, sitting down on the dark wood of his foyer to take off her own footwear. Her companion stood next to her, tall even without shoes.

Halfway out of her left zori, a flurry of feet approached the two shinobi. Confused, Nika looked up at Shino. His eyebrows were furrowed and he looked unsettled.

'Who could…?'

"Shi-chan! Did you bring Nika-kun?"

"Yes, Mother,"

'…._SHI-CHAN?_' Her mouth dropped.

Aburame Chouko rounded a corner and bustled over to the two young ninjas. Nika blinked. Chouko's cheeks were cherry and her eyes bright as a beetle's backside. (A/N: insert laughter here).

"Welcome, Nika-kun! I hope you're hungry," and a stunned Nika was led away by Shino's mom, hand on her elbow. She threw a helpless look over her shoulder at Shino. She wasn't expecting much, he wouldn't dare contradict his mother. He met her expectations by not doing anything, but followed them into the dining room. The table was already set with silverware and the food dishes. Shibi waited for them, and greeted his son and his "friend" warmly.

As they sat down, Nika noticed how unusually chipper (How could she not notice?) Chouko and Shibi seemed. Shibi was naturally pleasant, and while not a completely open book, was an improvement to his son and so it was not so startling to see him this way. Chouko however….

"Nika-kun! Have more sandwiches! What's wrong?" Chouko brandished a platter of little sandwiches at the young kunoichi.

"Uhn…thank you," and she awkwardly took two triangular sandwiches between her fingers.

Chouko smiled broadly, waving random food items at her son, who chewed quietly and placidly. However, his dark eyebrows were threatening to smoosh the skin between them he was frowning so badly. Shibi finally placed his cup down, having downed several cups to wash down the generous meal he treated himself to.

"The meal was excellent, Chouko-san," politely complimented Nika.

"Thank you! Can you imagine, Shibi tried to stop me from making lunch today!" she cried out affectionately at her sheepish husband. Startled by his mother's loud voice, Shino nearly dropped his sandwich.

"Mother…"

Shibi shot a not so secretive glance to his wife, and Nika felt the grip of impending danger.

"Shino, your mother and I have some news," The elder Aburame began, motioning for Shino to stop eating. Shino stopped abruptly.

"You're going to have a baby sister!" Burst in Chouko.

Oh, the silence! The silence was heavy.

Nika's face fell into a sympathetic and pitying expression. 'A **baby sister**, for Shino?!'

"…." Shino leaned his forehead on his palm, desolately. His father must have foreseen this reaction, and he hustled forward to grasp his son's shoulder encouragingly.

"Aburame's usually only have one child, and it's almost always a boy, Nika-kun. This _is_ quite a shock," admitted Chouko, toning down a little.

"A GOOD shock," the elder Aburame stressed.

"Ah…of course, yes! Congratulations!" Nika faked a smile. Children didn't sit well with her, but it explained Chouko's sudden mood swing. Pregnancy did weird things to a woman. Not that she would know.

Shino's lethargy did not surprise his parents at all, so they simply left him alone. They only demanded that they walk his friend home like a gentleman. 'Which,' Nika scowled, 'he would have done anyway.'

Shino walked with her, stiffer than usual (how is this possible!?).

Suddenly compelled to speak, she turned her head to him.

"It's alright Shino. I have a little sister too, and they aren't all that bad," she offered. She didn't add that she didn't see said sister every day. He didn't reply, of course. "You okay? You're not going to be sick or anything, right?"

"I'm….fine," his voice was as flat as Naruto was orange.

"Tch," she scowled. Either he was traumatized that he was no longer the only child, or that his parents still…"got it on." "Hey, come and spar with me," she felt a playfulness wrap around her words. She tugged on his large coat with her fingers briefly. A spar or any other physical exercise might take his mind off of things and ease him.

No reply of course, but he leaned away from her and headed off in the direction of the training fields. Her heart sank. 'Oh god, not field one…' Fields one through three were bare of most trees, and were usually occupied with new genin practicing rudimentary jutsus and taijutsu. They made her shudder with agitation.

"Aw, come on Shino," she whined, "Try a different scene! Five or nine's really cool, a lot of trees and scenery," she added after a moment. He stopped and turned his head to her.

"What?" she blinked at him, confused at his behavior. He shrugged, much to her astonishment and nice as you please, headed off towards the ninth training field.

Grinning like a fool, Nika caught up to him. Sometimes he was just too cute. And sometimes, she had no idea why she thought what he did was too cute.

Her eyes flicked right and left, making sure they were alone. Finding no one, she reached out her hand and wrapped her fingers around his elbow. One of the few things they agreed about was that public affection was a no no, that these things were best done when no one was looking. 'It would be very embarrassing anyway,' she thought.

However, right now no one was watching, and the urge to touch him was rubbing up against her senses rather insistently. 'A lot of creatures associate touch with comfort,' she surmised, attempting to tug Shino into a faster gate (haha, good luck…).

They were in luck, field nine was open. Five was too, but it was far too muddy. There was a stream of mud where there was once only a stretch of dirt in one corner of Nine, but Nika didn't plan on venturing that far into the training field. Childishly, she yearned to jump on the random logs and rocks scattered about the mud.

"Well, what would you like to work on?" she turned to him.

"Work on?"

"Yeah, like I need to work on…well, a little of everything," she spread her arms generously. Her associate paused for a moment.

"Taijutsu,"

"I can help you with that," she nodded. Shino's own brand of taijutsu was…unorthodox. It was like he didn't quite want to throw a punch or anything. Clearly, he was a long range fighter. "Want me to use basic tai, or my own style?"

"It doesn't matter," he did not drop to a fighting position, and yet did not give off the impression of being open. If she came at him, he'd retaliate, no doubt about it. She shrugged, pushed off the ground and flew at him. As she anticipated, one strong and solid arm came to block her blow. Normally, she'd grab onto him and swing around. She preferred to use her opponents own body against them. This time, she let her feet touch the ground. She flipped her wrist over his, gripped his arm, and tugged him toward her.

He didn't budge.

'Rather like the stubborn statue that he is…'

"Okay, Shino…try hitting me instead of me attacking you," she bossed. She dropped his arm. Awkwardly, he stood. "Well?"

His arm swept up in an arc towards her head. A typical attack from him, Nika stepped to the side near him easily.

"Okay, okay," she murmured. Not bothering to warn him, she grabbed the hem of his collar and pulled his head forward. She saw the swatch of exposed skin between his collar and his hitai-ate come near her. His eyebrows contorted.

Her other hand shot out and dug her fist into his stomach (lightly, if you can believe that). He only grunted, the many layers cushioned the blow. This sort of sport continued for a while, the gentle kicking of Shino's ass.

'Of course,' Nika smiled grimly to herself as she jumped over the kick Shino supposedly thought would catch her off guard, 'if we weren't limited to just taijutsu, he'd probably be kicking my ass right now,'

She called for a break. He kept standing, but his shoulders moved as he took deep breathes.

"Tch, I see your problem, Shino," she sighed, slumping to the ground. He'd only managed to land a few hits, but the bug user could pack a punch when he wanted to. However, he had many other taijutsu faults. He waited for the lion-eared kunoichi to elaborate.

"You dislike taijutsu and you dislike it because it means you must be close to someone else," she began. He already knew this, and she realized that. "You fight okay with me, but you're a bit rusty," she was explaining more to herself now. She paused, "You probably feel more comfortable with me because I'm not a perfect stranger. If you could apply your intelligence to hand to hand, then I think you'd do fine," her voice became flat.

Fighting was an intimate thing, you're so close to another person with a purpose Fighting is like dancing in this way, both bodies flushed and near each other. It could be embarrassing.

"Since you feel this way, you'll never be very comfortable with hand to hand," she concluded, reaching up to pick a stray leaf from his pants. It was sticking to the fabric at his knee, above the gathered cloth where his pants end, and it bothered her.

"But," she went on, flicking away the offending foliage, "That's alright, provided you keep your opponent long distance. Or…" she trailed. Hurriedly, she hopped up on one of the logs among the muck.

"Or…?" he followed her slowly; he'd rather not fall into the mud. Curiously, her face was rather heated-was she embarrassed? What would she be embarrassed about? - and kept her face averted.

"Or you could just make sure you keep….uhn, someone who's pretty decent at taijutsu around," she waved her hand at her cheeks to get some cool air circulating around her face. It was rather warm. 'Bah! This is so stupid. Tch, it should be cool enough out that I don't need to fan away this blush!' she flattened her ears in annoyance. By saying, "decent at taijutsu," it could be inferred that she was speaking of herself…which would be taken as, "you should keep me around for a long while." She wasn't sure if she wanted to be sending that message; she's no good at this stuff. She was also really confused. She felt affection for him of course, stronger than any other guy she knew, but she was certain their characters would not suit.

Shino, typically, did not answer. Nika was rather grateful, and with a more cheery expression on her face she walked the log, pretending she was walking the plank of a pirate ship. She was not very grateful to the random stub of a branch still attached the fallen log.

"GYAH!"

Mud did not suit her.

She fell face first too. It was either face-first-log, or face-first-mud. The kunoichi pushed against the thick, goop and made a sucking noise doing so.

'…I'm covered in…cold mud…' her mouth opened in indignation. She shook her whole body like a dog, sending splatters of muck everywhere. She rolled over and sat down, dejectedly in her pool of filth while managing her mightiest glare at Shino.

"Not…a….word," her words dripped deadly from her lips. Of course, the one time she asked him to be his taciturn self, he feels the need to open his mouth. He stepped a little bit closer on the log, and even though his face (or what you may see of it) did not change expression, his voice held amusement.

"Aren't you supposed to be a kunoichi-"

"Shut up!" her foot shot out and kicked the log, and it shivered violently. Meanwhile, her arm arched out and scooped a swatch of mud up and flung it at Shino's head. Perhaps he expected her to sit on her ass and not take it out on anyone. Either way, her mud slinging skills were only half of what they should be. The glop spattered across his head. The wobbly base for his feet in combination with the sudden force across his head threw him backwards….right into the other side of the mire.

'He makes the funniest squelching noise…' Nika could not help thinking to herself. There was a moment of awed silence, and the young Aburame sat up. His hood stuck to the muck and it fell from his head, finally plastering itself against the back of his jacket. His cheek and entire backside was…MUD.

The Nakamura's mouth gaped.

Shino had this magnificently crafted look of rage chiseled onto his stony face.

"Oooh, Shino…" she whispered.

Another pause.

"You…hm…hmf!" she choked out, then gave up and promptly threw her head back, mouth open wide to let out her laughter. Naturally, Shino was pissed that she wasn't more sorry; he felt the need to retaliate. Cool, thick mud bloomed on her throat like a filthy flower.

"…You did NOT just throw that mud at me!" she roared, grabbing her throat. Never mind that she was freezing, or that she was dirty, or that her clothes may be ruined forever.

_This means war_….

She pulled herself from the mess with some effort and fell to her knees. Shino watched her. He also watched the clod of sludge fly straight to his face. He easily evaded this and promptly received another hit, flat on his face.

"AHA!" Nika now raised her darkened hands to the sky in victory.

Crawling up onto the log, Shino wiped his shades as best as he could.

'Oh, crap…' Nika realized her mistake all too quickly.

He aimed for her ears this time.

She screeched as the delicate organs of her ears were pummeled mercilessly.

Her retaliation met his in an all out mud fight. Rarely did either aim; there was not enough time between hits! It was a wonder that they did not run out of mud.

Panting, they came to a truce, with Nika cracking up the whole way.

"You-! Shi-!" You look so…funny!" tears sprang to her eyes and left dirty trails down her cheeks. Her comrade refused to share in the laughter; after all, he didn't see what was so funny.

Absolutely covered with the mess and not caring anymore, she crawled over to him on all fours and clapped her palms onto his shoulders. She grinned like a fool, looking into his face. Half of it was smeared with the stuff, and he was unsuccessfully wiping at his shades. His shades were shaped like goggles, actually. Nika mused that it was probably to keep people from trying to peer at his face when he was turned away, hoping to catch a glance of the corner of his eye or something.

"Here," she tugged at her bandana at her hip, which somehow escaped their battle a little better than her clothes…sort of. She dabbed at his face a bit, and then attempted to scrape away at his lenses. She did this gently, so as not to push them askew. "Can you see better now?"

"Yes,"

The female shinobi swiped at her own face roughly, managing to buff away some of the offending grime. During this, she experienced a sort of dejavu. It seemed that whenever she got herself into these clumsy situations, her friend always seemed to have an excuse to be near her. Rather like they were now.

"Let's go, before we start sticking to our clothing or something," she muttered. They rose up, unsteadily with the added weight.

Iruka's voice suddenly ushered through the trees.

"C'mon kids…" he scolded. Nika jumped, feeling guilty and ashamed. Shino stood like his usual stiff self. Their old sensei rounded the corner with a pack of little brats. They were all probably in their very first years of the Academy, and were quite content to drive their sensei bonkers. Iruka finally arrived upon his two old pupils, and needless to say, he was quite shocked.

"Yo! Iruka-sensei!" Nika smirked at her friend, but innocently raised her hand to Iruka in greeting. She had decided to play it cool.

They approached the group, the little punks whispering behind chubby fingers.

"Don't use this field, sensei," Shino advised, pushing his shades up the bridge of his nose.

"Ya, it's FAR too muddy!" Nika's teeth glinted, sharp canine fangs exposed. A little kid in the back giggled.

"I….I see," faltered Iruka, hand on his face. 'Why do my ex-students always do this to me? Actually, why is SHINO involved with something like this?!' Iruka cast an accusing eyeball at the Nakamura, who was making her quick exit with the Aburame.

"Sensei, who were those two grown ups?" a wee little girl in the front asked. His face grave, Iruka looked over at the future of Konoha.

"They? Oh, them. One of them is a brilliant shinobi. The other one? Eh, she's a handful," he grunted.

Mechanically, Shino sort of swayed towards his home, Nika at his elbow.

"Tch! How embarrassing!" she exclaimed. Actually, she was thankful for all of it. If she hadn't fallen, Shino may have roped her into an explanation of herself earlier. If Iruka hadn't shown up, he (Shino) may have gotten ideas into his head. Ideas that involved him getting closer. "He's so random about that." She mumbled, looking at the road.

"Hm?" Shino made an inquiring noise. She made a noise that sort of sounding like, "Nothing…"

She roamed her eyes upwards and to the side at her companion and quickly covered her mouth; she tried hard not to snigger, but a small cackle escaped her palm. She felt his glare upon her, but it only spurred her onto a fit of cackles to see him standing there, caked in mud.

"I-I'm s-sorry! You just….mud everywhere!" she stopped suddenly, face becoming serious again. "Oh, you got mud in your hair, too…" she sounded sorrowful. Shino's hand itched to test his hair, but she beat him to it.

Her fingers brushed his hair, but quickly she snatched them back when she realized what she was doing. About to apologize, Chouko called out to them from the porch, a broom in her hand.

"Hey, kids!" she chirped, dark hair pulled back (somehow).

'Time flies when you're havin' fun,' Nika scowled to herself. She was pissed. She was dirty, Shino was dirty. Chouko would blame her for it, and here she was forgetting herself and putting the moves on Shino! Bah…it's just one thing after another.'

"Sh…SHINO!? What happened?!" Chouko gaped, the broom gripped in her hands like a lifeline. Never in all her years has she ever seen Shino all muddied up like this! He was a good, obedient child!

In spite of herself, Nika could not help the wave of glee that rose up inside of her. 'Heh, her good little boy's all dirty…what do you think about that!?' Nika laughed to herself. She woke up to catch the last bit of Shino's explanation.

"…I helped Nika out of the mud," the way he spoke left his mother with little room for questioning, all though she did cast a wary eye to the Nakamura.

Said kunoichi threw her best smile (not saying much) and promptly excused herself; she was in dire need of a bath.

"I suppose…you could use ours," Chouko sounded dubious. Shino nearly did a double take, and before he could open his mouth, Nika already answered.

"How nice of you to ask! But no, thank you. I have a feeling if it's not mud, it'll be soap that Shino will have the urge to throw," insert sneaky glance at Shino here.

Puzzled, Chouko looked to her son. When he gave no outward reaction and she turned back to sort this out, Nika was already exiting the front gate.

"Odd girl, why do you hang around her, Shino-chan?" He felt like cringing, from both the question and the "chan."

"I'm taking a bath," and he quietly made his exit.

The Nakamura slipped into the steaming water gratefully. She'd already rinsed herself off of the offending grime, and desired a nice soak. She sank to her nose underwater, eyes closed in bliss.

A lot of people she met instantly assumed that because of her ears and fangs, she must have several other cat-like qualities. Sometimes it was true. She detested water, but only if her clothes were getting wet or if the sudden water was not planned. However, she loved baths. She also had a strange attraction to dairy products…like milkshakes and smoothies.

It suddenly occurred to her that Shino was probably bathing too right now. What an odd feeling that was. Rather embarrassing really. She found other things to think about.

Her ears switched, listening to the creaking of the building. A tingling sensation in her nose warned her too late.

"Agh-ch!" she sneezed. 'Bah! Someone must be talking about me,' she grumped.

Elsewhere, in the grand bathroom at the Aburame manor…

"Rolling around in the mud with Nika-kun, hmm?" Shibi teased his son from the doorway, leaning at the door leisurely. His son's back was to him, and all he was presented with was the thick untamable hair that his son had inherited from him.

"…Father," Shino rumbled from the tub. Shibi had to chuckle, his son was very silly about Nika-kun. Shino _deserves_ to be teased for this, who would have seen it coming? Shino rolling around a mud pile with a girl…just thinking about it made Shibi smile. Of course, Shino didn't see what was so funny.

"Did she enjoy it? You have to make sure she enjoys these things before you marry her," instructed the elder Aburame. His son refused to answer, and instead threw a towel over his head, replicating the hood on his coat. Marry her? She'd never allow him to even _start_ proposing.

Eventually Shibi left his son alone to his bath, only to have to duck away from his wife's prying questions.

"Honey, do you think he's sick? Honey?" his wife tugged at his sleeve viciously, a worried quirk about her mouth puckered her lips. His hands twitched. "Shibi!" Chouko chided, but not entirely not enjoying her husband's pinch. Their heads bent towards each other.

The younger Aburame walked out of the shower into the hallway to find his parents making out. Childishly, he wanted to tell them to, "Get a room" but resisted and instead retreated into his room.

Shino decided to leave Nika alone for a couple of days. He'd been seeing a lot of her lately and it was noticed by his parents. Shibi couldn't be happier; convinced his son would one day marry the kunoichi. Chouko was not so warm.

"Really, somehow she talked you into rolling around in the mud, Shi-chan!" his mother clucked at him, handing him his laundry basket. Instead he spent most of the time inspecting the new Red Kikaichu, which seemed to enjoy Konoha very much. Other time was devoted to avoiding his mother, who appeared to latch onto her son at every opportunity to giggle into his ear about how happy she was she was going to have another child. He went to Kiba and Hinata's houses, but it appeared that the two had been seeing quite a bit of each other, and were otherwise occupied. He didn't know quite what to think about that.

Eventually, he couldn't wait any longer to get away from his house. He left early, earlier than when Nika would have woken up, but he rather felt like waking her up rudely. She was fun to tease.

Of course, he never did this regularly.

She'd probably tear off his head if he woke her up before 8:00 every day.

He stepped up each of the steps carefully, purposefully taking his time. Despite popular belief, he preferred to be outside of four walls. People believe bugs to be non-migrating creatures who liked to stay put, which makes no sense when you consider ants or flies. He did enjoy activities done indoors when the weather was cool however, or later in the evening.

Upon arriving at Nika's door, he paused. He had a feeling something was not right. Without bothering to knock, he tried the door.

It was unlocked, and it swung open with a small creak.

All the curtains were shut, and it looked like no one had been using the kitchen for a few days. It all seemed almost cold. Perhaps she'd been called off to a mission?

No, she would have locked the door and tidied up. Well, she would have locked up. Nika's cleaning habits were of whims: she only cleaned when she wanted or felt obligated to.

The kikaichu sent him data that showed that Nika was in her bedroom area, and her door was closed. Two stone lions guarded either end of the twin sliding doors, and above was a phrase in calligraphy: "Thou shalt not enter!"

Appropriate.

Back to Nika. She could be sleeping; she liked to sleep late when she had a late night. Despite how awkward it would be if someone were to catch him, he began to open the kunoichi's door.

They both opened halfway, and….

Narro: AHAH! Cut off ending! I actually have a hard time doing these. Actually, what was supposed to come next was supposed to be in this chapter, but I'm sick of looking at this.

Kyouya: My, what a wonderful way of expressing your pride in your work, Narro-kun.

Narro: Ah, shut…up…¬¬ Anyway, everyone go to my friend's stories too! They're really good, and pretty soon on a different account me and Mika have, we'll have a reeeaaaallly good story for you all to read, I promise! It's absolutely golden, people!

Moncollefan365

Fullmetalchick101


	7. Chapter 7

Narro: What, ho! It's been ages since I've felt like writing. It seems like it's impossible for me to write a chapter of anything if I'm also drawing something at the same time.

Kyouya: And you women boast about multi-tasking. :D

Narro: … (Flings clipboard away) FETCH!

Kyouya: …I'll just read the disclaimer then.

**Disclaimer: All Naruto characters belong to Kishimoto, Nika and any other OC's are property of Nika, do NOT steal them….they're bothersome.** Flamers and Grammar Nazis will be sold as love-slaves to Orochimaru.

…And there was a lion in his face. His muzzle was pulled up to reveal his impressive teeth imbedded in his black gums, and the beginnings wisps of a mane shot out from random areas on his ruff, head, neck and shoulders. Obviously, he was not pleased to see Shino. His hind feet seemed to be settled on Nika's bed, and his enormous length reached nearly to the door where his front paws were firmly planted to the wooden floor boards.

The mound of blankets heaped on the bed stirred, and Shino heard a small moan. Upon hearing the moan, the big cat increased his dislike of Shino's presence and made motions as if to shoo him away, swaying his enormous head threateningly at the Aburame's stomach.

"…Chai? What are you doing…" the blankets mumbled. The lion immediately arced around toward the head of the bed, carefully dodging her desk and chest of drawers. He rubbed his head against the headboard, making it wobble. His face switched to one of a contented house cat, waiting for its petting. A hand slipped from between the sheets and clumsily scratched his muzzle.

Suddenly, Nika lurched up from amongst her nest and scratched behind her ear, not looking up at Shino. She honestly didn't know anyone was there, she was still groggy eyed and was preoccupied with what she was going to make for breakfast.

The Aburame was grateful that she didn't sleep in the nude, and wondered to himself if he should step out of the room before she noticed him. However, she glanced up just as his foot left the ground.

"….Shino?"

"Yes?"

"What're you doing in my room? It's-bah! It's only seven forty two!"

"…Good morning," he offered, fist shoved into his pockets. While this exchange was going on, "Chai" was busy giving the bug user the stink eye.

"Hm…seems like none of CHAKRA's descendents like you," the Nakamura sounded mildly amused. "Don't you dare do anything, Chai. I'm not fixing any broken bones," she chided the cub with a sharp grin.

Nika shooed Shino out so she could change, and reprimanded him through her doors about how early he was allowed to wake her up.

"Honestly, I think you do this just to tick me off, Aburame!" she scowled at him, running her fingers through her hair once or twice. She could have sworn she saw him nod at this from over her shoulder. They sat at her table eating a small breakfast consisting of just rice and some fruit, while Chai hovered over Nika's every move.

"Why was your door unlocked?" Shino's shades glinted as he pushed them back up the bridge of his nose.

"Chai," she answered simply, leaning against said cub's chest leisurely. At every move Shino made, Chai's eyes followed. It would have been unnerving to any other.

"He can open doors?"

"Sure. Although, I'd rather him warn me that he's coming to sleep over…" this was said with an irritated glare thrown above her, where Chai purred at her.

Suddenly the phone rang, startling all three of them. Nika scooped up her spilled rice in vain, before running to the kitchen to her ancient phone. Few people in Konoha had telephones, and if they did, they used it very rarely. Same with TV's.

Shino watched with mild interest as Nika picked up the receiver and delicately held it away from her face.

"Hello? Yuka? What is it?" Nika listened, and then made a grimace. "Yuka, stop speaking so loudly. I can hear you fine!" She argued with her father for a few minutes before abruptly telling him to shut up, so she can finish her breakfast.

"What's your hurry?" grumped the Nakamura.

"I have company, it's rude to keep-"

"IS IT SHINO?"

"What the HELL did I tell you about YELLING INTO THE PHONE!?" Bickering with her father over the phone eventually wore Nika out, so she ended their conversation-if it may be called that- and returned to her table, only to find it infested with kikaichu. The little things were shuttling her rice grains back into her bowl, like ants only bigger. Nika sat down carefully, gingerly shooing the kikaichu away from her silverware.

"You own a phone?" the Aburame opened his palms, and his insects scurried under the cuffs of his jacket.

"Yes, but I dislike using it. Gives me headaches," she explained moodily.

"I wonder why…" surprisingly, his teasing only made her laugh quietly and awkwardly thank his…uh, companions for cleaning up. He shrugged off her thanks, but paused at the way she was staring at him.

"What is it?"

"Eh? Nothing! Except…" she slid her eyes to the side.

"Hm?"

"Can I see one?" Her tawny ears faced backwards, unsure of what he would think of her request. He stared her down, patiently waiting for her to elucidate. "One of your kikaichu, can I see one?"

This struck him as the most unorthodox request ever made from him.

"What are you going to do with it?"

"Squish it," she rolled her eyes sarcastically. "No, seriously. I just want to see one up close," she hastened at his darkening expression. He thought about it, and decided she would not be so stupid as to actually squish it in front of him like that and called out a single kikaichu. She scooted over to his side, and held out her palm. He urged the insect onto her palm, and when it skittered its little legs onto her skin, she jumped.

Flushing furiously, she held up the insect to eye level. It was a fascinating study; an insect is basically divided into body parts connecting like pieces of armor. It's mandibles clicked together, as if expressing it's thankfulness to her admiration.

She abruptly stood up, and nearly conked into Chai's lower jaw. He grunted at her.

"You might as well as leave now, Chai. I don't know how well the Inuzuka family will tolerate you in the village during the day," she said over her shoulder. She padded into her room, still cupping the kikaichu in her palm.

With a flick of his tail, Chai haughtily crossed the living room/dining room area and nosed the sliding doors aside. Shino watched as the yearling cub, already nine feet long and five feet off the ground, crouched on the balcony and hop up onto the roof with one fluid motion.

Nika came back into the room with a sketchbook and a lead pencil.

Shino watched in interest, as his maybe-maybe-not-girlfriend, urged his kikaichu onto her knee. She leaned back up against his shoulder and positioned her sketchpad on her thighs, pencil at the ready.

"Will he stay still, or do you have to tell him to?" Stupidly, Shino thought she was wondering out loud if he would stay still. She nudged him. "Shino?"

"He'll stay still,"

She hummed a response, and begin to draw ovalish circles lightly on the thick paper. He watched intently; he had not known anyone who could draw or paint or anything creative like that. He knew that the Hyuuga family sometimes required their children to learn traditional musical instruments, or to take up calligraphy, but sketching was a bit different.

"Would you mind not looking over my shoulder?" she complained. She obviously couldn't see his face from her vantage point, but she could feel his body leaning towards her. He obliged her, but instead watched his kikaichu perform as a model. Staying still was not a difficult task; they often must freeze in the wild to escape notice of large birds or weasels.

Slowly, the ovals and the scratchy lines began to form something that did actually look similar to his insect. It was fascinating to watch just a bunch of lines become a body, and mandibles. A sort of tranquility overcame the apartment, and only the appealing sounds of sketching lifted into the air.

The phone rang again, and this time Nika's body jerked in shock. The kikaichu flickered off in a buzz. Nika angrily tossed her sketch pad onto the low table, and the pencil flew off god knows where. Shino frowned at her in disapproval. Sometimes, she acted too much like a cat to suit him. Of course, he'd never say that to her face.

Quite peeved that her pleasant revere had been broken quite rudely, Nika felt it only natural to answer her phone in the gruffest manner possible.

"What?"

"Um…..uh, Nika-kun?" a small voice peeped. Nika imagined a small, fluffy bunny hiding in some hidey hole in a garden.

"Hinata-chan?" Behind her, Shino began to clear the table and put the dishes in her sink. The Nakamura smiled to herself.

"Um, yes. Is this a bad time?"

"No, no. Phone just startled me, is all. What's up?" Shino turned to his companion, a questioning air about him. She pointed under the sink.

He bent down and located some dishwashing soap, a dishcloth, and a hand towel. He proceeded to wash her dishes. Inside, Nika was quivering in joy. Shino was doing a house hold chore! Glory be! She found a male who would actually clean up after himself, and her!!

"Hm? I'm sorry, what? …A movie? Well, I'm-what?"

Shino laid the few dishes they had used out on the drying rack, and turned to look at Nika. She had the strangest look on her face. She was either in extreme agony, or puzzled over a very complicated mathematical equation. Suddenly, she shoved the phone at his face.

"Here, you talk to her," her tone was stony. Awkward, even though his family owned a phone also, he held thee receiver up to his ear gingerly. Well, he held it up to the area where his ear was. His hood was sort of in the way. He only had ever used the phone a few times, and that was when he was quite young. Something about speaking with a grandparent.

"Hello,"

"Shino-kun! What's wrong with Nika-kun?" He looked, and was in time to catch her skulking into her laundry room, adjacent to the kitchen. She hopped up on the dryer, and turned away from him, leaning on the wall.

"She's fine. Why did you call?"

"Um…uh, Kiba wants to go to the movies tonight. But he picked a….ah, a scary movie!"

"….Yes?"

"Would….would you consider double dating with us tonight?!" A movie? A scary one, according to Hinata would be the equivalent of a PG13 rating, perhaps. Well, he hadn't gone to the movies in quite awhile…

"Yes, will dinner be included as well?"

While Shino made arrangements with his teammate, his maybe-maybe-not-girlfriend-who-is-very-angry-right-now was currently boiling at Aburame's audacity. Going on a double date would insinuate that she really was dating Aburame. Such a thing Nika could not wrap her head around. It was….yes, he had kissed her a few times before, and he stuck by her more so these past few…he came every night to watch her television and stayed until she went to bed….he trained with her occasionally. And he was sometimes pulling his weight around her house, cleaning up after himself… 'Goddamnit…how did I let this happen? I somehow acquired a partner without realizing it,' she growled to herself. He was sneaky about it too; she had become accustomed to his presence over a period of time, and now she would never get rid of him, or his expectations of her. Not to mention, he was just making decisions without her.

She heard a click, and then she knew her phone had been put back into place. A body moved closer to her hiding spot and stopped in the doorway. The light wasn't on, and he reached for it.

"Don't,"

He paused at her aggressive tone. While she was not looking at him, her body was rigid, and curled up into itself. Not at all inviting body language.

"Tonight, at seven, we'll go to dinner with Kiba and Hinata. Then a movie," he explained clearly. She laughed.

"We? We will go to dinner, and then a movie with another couple?"

"Yes,"

His tone was frank, and it invited no refusal. It invited her temper, and frankly, rankled her pride. Since when did he boss her around?

Still, she tried to keep calm. It was certain that he did not respect a lost temper, and it would be difficult to speak to him seriously if he was offended by her behavior. She cleared her throat.

"Shino, do you believe that we are an item?" A simple enough question, direct and easy to answer. Usually.

"I was under the impression we are," he answered, and he slipped his hands into his pockets. She noticed he had a tendency to do this, and wondered if he needed to fiddle with things to keep his hands busy like she did.

"I wasn't. If we were, things would be different," she scowled. Yes, they'd be just a tad different.

The room was quiet, with only the light from the living room giving any luminescence to the mud room. The corner she occupied was dark, and Shino's silhouette was tall against the white-washed wall.

"How would they be different?" His right hand came out of his pocket and touched the door frame. His shades looked like a band across his face, a mask. 'Oh, besides the fact it would never exist? Not so different at all!' the sarcastic little voice resting in the back of her skull screeched. She stared at him for a moment, and then slid off her dryer. She walked towards him, and for some reason, he walked backwards. Perhaps the determined gleam in her eyes frightened him. She shoved her hand towards him, fingers splayed.

"There would be five components that would need to be in constant progression in order for this relationship to function!" she barked. His jet eyebrows drifted upwards.

"I'm listening," he'd humor her sudden psychotic episode.

"First! Affection, Goddamnit! I demand that you loosen up a little bit and allow us to express ourselves. Sure, in public, I agree with you: PDA is bad. But when we're here…." she motioned to the living room, and her eyes softened. "I don't mind a little bit of hand holding, or a kiss goodnight. Perhaps later in our relationship…." She felt her face heat up, and abruptly opened the fridge for a grape soda. She looked to him, and he shrugged. It was around ten thirty by now, so she didn't feel too guilty.

Shino mentally leaned back on his heels and pondered her first demand. Affection would be difficult. It took a great effort to gather himself up for just one kiss. His parents were to blame, he supposed. Chouko had fussed, but rarely hugged or kissed him in anything other than motherly applications. Shibi merely patted his son on the head. Of course, it was not entirely their fault. It was the Aburame way. Then again, he was dealing with a Nakamura, a species closer to the Inuzuka family. That sort of people, apparently, thrived on close contact.

He'd visited there a few times, and been surprised to see such things as frequent hugs, and other interfamily interactions. Come to think of it, Yuka was loving father. He often kissed Hana's cheek, or teased her about her pigtailed hair. He even had a gruff fondness for Nika, patting her head, or allowing her to lean up against him while reading.

When she said, "Later in our relationship…" his blood evaporated. Although nearly nineteen, the thought of going further than kissing with Nika made him balk. Inner Shino loved the idea, Outer Shino required a slower pace.

Nika must have been ready to deliver the rest of her conditions, because she crushed her soda can and inhaled. 'I'm on a roll, Nika…keep going.'

"Empathy. We're different, and we need to accept that. In being different, we have to work around some things that don't agree with the other. This leads me to the third, Compromise. We're going to need a lot of that, I believe," she eyed him. All of this sounded reasonable, so he nodded. Relief was beginning to creep back into her body. She'd been afraid that he would resist some of the things she said. Obviously not about compromise, but about the affection in particular. Emboldened, she went on.

"Trust and Loyalty, I consider the same thing, basically. I don't have to tell you that these things are important. I already trust you, and you'll never have to worry about me….ah, cheating," she fumbled over that. Cheating was a touchy subject, and she preferred to spend little time there. He didn't seem to notice her stumble, so she continued. "Last, but not least is Support. If you need me, I'm here. If I need you, you need to be there. In all ways, not just if I'm missing an arm and need a ….never mind," she almost let that pun crawl away with itself. (A/N: ducks flying gloves….haha…I did it again!).

All these things he would willingly agree to, if she would stop making such a big deal out of it.

She watched him anxiously. As much as it pained her to admit it, she did rather like him. There was something…**powerful** about him that just drew her to him. He was everything she was not, and she admired him greatly for it. However, she could not stand it if she were to be in a bondless relationship. It would be like mothering a new cub without speaking, or playing with it: a vital and necessary attachment. And despite how much she blabbered on about her never finding love and things like that, right now it felt like the most natural thing in the world for her to find a connection, nurse it, and hold onto it for dear life.

"Nika. I'm not a cretin. I would have done these things even if you had not asked," he rumbled. The Nakamura smiled to herself. He agreed.

Her fingers quivered, and she couldn't hold herself back. She felt energy rush up to her throat and spread. She practically flung herself at him. He let out a grunt, but held his ground. She had sprawled out her limbs in a limbo, that quickly formed into a body hug. She pressed her face against the fabric of his jacket, breathing deeply.

"You better get used to me hugging you like this," she murmured. While a little alarmed at her sudden outburst, the young Shinobi took it into stride as best he could. 'She's going to do more?' he wondered to himself. He didn't care, all of his hard work had paid off and now she had accepted him as a beaux.

Shino left a little while later. She had found it difficult to keep her fingers from sinking into his jacket and pulling him closer. It was rather shameful, she admitted to herself later while she was in the shower, but who could blame her? She'd been waiting for so long.

She had? Well, it would seem so. She didn't even know she was waiting!

She rinsed herself off and wondered what sort of clothing a person wore on a double date?

Her ninja clothing was out of the question….so, what else did she have to wear?

.

.

.

Nika tore into her clothing drawers. Tank tops, and boys shorts galore. She had a really cool outfit that she absolutely loved, but it was, once again, for work. She really needed to go clothes shopping, and not just for regular clothes either. Her socks, which she rarely wore, were now a buffet line for the moths. Her underwear and bra drawer….

'Okay, so I gotta go out and buy myself some date-y clothing…." she growled to herself. This is where a mother's help is needed, and unfortunately, she did not get along with her birth mother at all. Something about Maya just did not click with her. Instead, Nika threw on some older clothing and stuffed her pockets with cash from her green box under her bed. That green box held her bi-annual allowance. It had more traps on it than King Tut's tomb.

Hinata prepared for the dinner and movie in a different way. True, Kiba had taken her out quite a few times, but each time felt like the first. She fussed over how dressy she should appear, and whether her father would let her out of the house with just a little bit of lip balm on. The only way she could cool down a little was to remember that Kiba most likely just rolled out of bed and put on a mostly clean pair of pants and left. She pressed and ironed her nice sweater and hung it up with her nice pants. Of course, it was a little silly to get dressed up too much for a horror movie. Somehow it was excusable when it was a romantic comedy, or a chick flick.

A pebble outside her window tore her attention away from clothing. She slid open the glass, and gasped.

"K-Kiba-kun! Father will murder you on sight if he caught you in our yard at my window!" Even when trying to scold her boyfriend, Hinata somehow managed to sound meek.

Her boyfriend of a few months grinned up at her saucily.

"As if that old man scares me**!**" the Inuzuka huffed. Truthfully, he scared the pants off of him, but there was no need for her to know that. "Where is he anyway?"

The navy haired Hyuuga self consciously looked left and right. 'Oh, of course….'

"He's visiting Neji in the hospital,"

"Neji's injured?" his voice held a note of surprise.

"No, he had a negative reaction to some booster shots," she explained. Without so much as a by your leave, she watched as Kiba hopped up into the apple tree next to her window. He smiled at her again, and -Lord have mercy-she couldn't help but smile back. He was rather charming when he was not busy butting heads with Naruto.

"So did Nika-kun give the O.K?"

"Shino-kun did," she suddenly remembered that Kiba could probably see into her room. She went red from the roots of her hair to her chin. What if he saw her outfit?! Of course, Kiba had no interest in clothing.

"Did you know Hokage-sama has a bet going on about Shino and Nika-kun?"

"No! Hokage-sama wouldn't…." 'Well, yes she would….' she ruefully tugged on a lock of her hair.

"Hinata…" Kiba's voice suddenly went deeper. 'Oh, my…..' she quivered. Kiba's eyes locked onto her beautifully gray orbs. "Don't you know what happens when you play with your hair in front of me?"

"Um…." Actually, she didn't but she could easily figure it out.

A sudden, sharp bark interrupted their would be romantic moment. Akamaru's warning bark came again.

"Whoops! Gotta go, babe. See you tonight!" and then the dog tamer vanished. Hinata's mouth opened wide, and she half flung herself out the window to see her father examining her tree. He peered up, puzzled at her reaction.

"Father, must you ruin everything!" she bawled. She slammed her window shut, and stormed off into her room.

Hiashi, shocked that his normally spluttering daughter had told him off looked at the apple blossom in his hand. It was slightly crinkled, but still intact.

"I didn't do it on purpose," he said to himself, abashed.

Nika flew back into her apartment. It had insulted her pride that she had to wear more feminine clothing. Don't get her wrong, nothing was wrong with girls clothes. It's just that nothing ever looked good on her rougher form. And, the lady at the shop had tried to help her, honestly, but for some reason her voice sounded a tad too snippy for her.

In the end, she'd chosen some jeans that were a bit tighter than she was used to, but still were pretty cool looking, and a nicer top with open, flowy kimono style sleeves. The neckline was debatable. It was chocolate in color, with pale pink vines crawling up the hem. The material was a light one, a foreign one she was not familiar with, but it fit like a glove and was breezy.

A warmth rose up in her body as she prepared for the date. Her confrontation with her…boyfriend-wow, that was strange to consider- had cleared her mind of its clutter, making it easier for her to move and to think lightly again. She had no idea how much weight she had been carrying on her shoulders! She examined herself in the mirror, slightly hesitant. She didn't quite look herself. She looked passably normal. She twitched her ears, and found them endearing. 'Does Shino care that I have ears…?' she pondered, but was disturbed by a knock at her door. Her eyes flew to the clock.

"Right on time, Aburame-kun," she opened the door, and then stopped, startled.

'Well….slap me upside my head and call me Tanya….'

He was gorgeous. Well, not in the traditional sense. An ordinary woman would have said he looked like a nice boy, or he was politely handsome.

He wore full out pants instead of standard issue long shorts most Shinobi tended to wear, and they were a deep silver. He wore shoes in a style that was also foreign, but she supposed they could only be considered dressy casual. His shirt collar was up, in a strangely fifties-ish style, but every last button was buttoned firmly. There was to be no risqué peek at the top of Shino's chest. Oddly enough, his shirt was a shadowy black, not at all a usual color for the bug user. Naturally, his hair was in disarray, but she had a suspicion no comb could tame that mane. And, his shades were still perched on the bridge of his nose, but they looked striking without his hood to mask their effect.

His eyebrows rose.

"You went shopping," he intoned.

Her ears went back, but decided that the jab was not worth the trouble.

"Yes. You look…." She struggled to find an adjective, but could not find one. She smiled at him instead. She slung her backpack purse across a shoulder and slipped into a pair of leather flip flops.

The Aburame was quiet, watching her do this. Her normal attire did not accentuate certain aspects of her body, but thesearticles of clothing did. He prided himself on his ability to remain a gentleman, but he did not foresee this. He also could not help but notice her appreciative glance at his attire. Perhaps his mother was not being silly when she remarked about his clothing earlier. His father simply looked at him, and gave him a smile he could not quite place…and he had a feeling that he would not like it if he could.

When she was ready, he took her by the elbow and guided her down the stairs. Kiba and Hinata waited for them at the bottom.

Hinata was just a little bit embarrassed. The dark stairway had given her the creeps, and the mere fact that no one else other than Nika-kun inhabited the building made it all the more creepier. What if there were cockroaches under the stairs? Or if spiders had set up their webs through some of the doorways?

Kiba squashed (beg pardon) her fears, by simply reminding her that Shino would sooner allow Hinata to weave pink ribbons into his hair before allowing anyone the chance to exterminate any bug, anywhere. Thus, he was the only one to venture into the dark stairwell.

The usual compliments- "You look nice tonight!" "How ARE you doing?"- were passed around full circle. They carefully picked their way through the late dinner rush in the streets towards a smallish café, known for it's large booths and bountiful sake bottles.

Dinner passed quietly, but pleasantly. They talked of normal things, like missions, and who was dating whom, and whether Rock Lee was seriously considering a new hair cut. Akamaru was not allowed to come on the date, since the owner of the theater had thrown Kiba and the young pup out when Akamaru was tall enough to start stealing food from the concession stand.

Stomach's full, they all ambled towards the theatre's neon lights with bright smiles on their faces (well, not Shino, but….). All was good until Nika dared ask what movie they were to see.

Kiba grinned, and Hinata ducked her head. Her eyes had gone a bit wide all of a sudden. Nika smiled, placing a soothing hand on her friends' shoulder.

"It's okay, Hina-chan! I'll be with you, I can handle anything!" She glanced up at the illuminated white billboard. Her smile froze in place upon reading the block letters.

Her hand slid from Hinata's sweater, and hung limply from her side.

"Eh? What's wrong, Nika-k-kun?" The other two came back from the ticket line, puzzled at Nika's expression.

"Oi, Nika-kun! Snap out of it," Kiba waved his hand in front of her face. Her eyes were round and you could not see her pupils.

"You didn't tell me…" she whimpered.

"Nika…" Shino's voice shook her attention. The Nakamura turned her head as if it were on rusty joints to look at him.

"**Chucky…."**

**Narro: OOOOOKAY. My GOD. I'm so sick of this chapter….it was supposed to be longer than this, but frankly….I'm not in a real writing mood, but I feel guilty cuz I need to work on another project but…..this one has seniority. I promise next chapter will be better!**

**Kyouya: Of course it will, Narro-kun. rolls eyes behind glasses**

**Narro: How about a Hurtz Donut, Kyouya? smiles innocently**

**Kyouya: ….I hate sweets.**

**Narro: ….DAMN. Read, Rate, and Review people!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Narro: **Do not bother giving me crap about how long it has been since I've written anything. I mean it. I will seriously throw the Otoori family at you.

**Kyouya:** I'm so glad me and my family can be of service to you, Narro-sama. I shall commence with the normal threats of flaming and whatnot. Do not do it.

"Yeah, Nika-kun! That's the movie we're seeing," Kiba nodded his head towards the movie poster. Nika could not look at it. She kept her eyes cemented to the ground, body stiff and threatening to quake. Hinata began to look nervous.

"Um…is it that scary Nika-kun?" Hinata's fears were fairly logical: if the lion mistress was afraid of something, surely _she_ should be too considering Nika's usual blatant disregard of fear.

"Of course it is not Hinata. Nika is being overly dramatic," toned in Shino, looking at Nika with disapproval. Nika should know better than to upset Hinata; she was just starting to come out of her shell and this was not helping. His shades, rather superfluous at night Nika realizes, glint in warning. She took a deep breath and looked up at her friend.

"I'm just really stupid about dolls, Hinata," she smiled lamely. "It's not scary, just stupid." Hinata looked a little less anxious then. Kiba, tired of dawdling around, grabbed Hinata by her hand and half dragged her into the theatre. Shino and Nika walked at a much slower pace, not touching and with her trailing behind him, reluctance smacking the ground with every step. It was only the thought of her father or Shino shaking their heads in disappointment at her fear that Nika was able to remain calm and go through the motions of getting ready to watch the movie. With the greatest determination, she gripped the arm rests of the theatre seats and became a statue. She was not sure why this doll bothered her. She didn't mind the killing, the maiming, or anything like that. Perhaps it was his appearance? Innocent blue eyes contorted into a menacing shape, with a demon-like glisten. A twisted, plastic smile…that grating, screaming voice that promised nightmares.

Every time the bastard spoke or popped up Nika thought she was going to faint. She had to pretend to look at the screen because Shino kept turning his head to look at her. After an eternity it seemed the credits rolled after an unsatisfactory conclusion (truly, he always comes back) Nika creaked back into a standing position. Kiba thought the entire idea and movie was hilarious, and even Hinata admitted it was a little silly. Although considering the various powers of shinobi, it was possible to create such a being.

"Are you guys going to try the Jounin Exams in two weeks?" Kiba questioned, his eyes bright with the prospect. Jounin trials were always very secretive, and were not nearly as broadcast as the Chuunin exams. No one knew what happened at them, except other Jounins.

"I do not think I am ready," sighed Hinata, looking miserably to the ground. Nika looked up, startled. With all of the things going on with Shino and her father and just missions in general, she had forgotten that the Jounin trials were soon. She was not sure if she was ready either. Shino could probably do it, she mused, although what "it" was is uncertain. She admitted that she actually had forgotten about it, but she will have to see how the next sequence of training goes.

Shino made an affirmative sound, surprising Nika. He hadn't mentioned anything about that. Then again, he hadn't mentioned the fact that he thought they were an item till just a little while ago. Suddenly, Nika was concerned and still in shreds mentally from the movie. There was no way she was going to sleep tonight.

At a junction in the road, they said their goodbyes. Hinata wafted off in one direction, Kiba in tow.

The other two plodded along in silence, not mentioning the beauty of the moon or the silence of the other. Nika was recovering from an evening of nerve severing and was therefore unaware of the oppressive anger emanating from her partner. Shino was quietly questioning himself where this other side of her came from. Usually the front line and putting her all into her battles was not the kunoichi he witnessed today. She also seemed more scatterbrained than usual: she had forgotten all about the Jounin exams. He was unsure exactly what Nika's ambitions were, but he was sure that being the best she could would fit into her repertoire. She was constantly training and throwing herself into her endeavors.

He was unused to this more unstable version of his girlfriend. The clothes she was wearing now? They were feminine and unlike her. Suddenly she was afraid of demon dolls when ordinarily he was sure she would laugh hysterically at the very idea! And now the fact that she expressed uncertainty about increasing a level in the eyes of the Hokage? Troubling, troubling. She was…suddenly extremely cat like. And now he suddenly felt a strange feeling, one that resembled alarm. Had he been wrong?

Nika noticed a faint buzzing from within Shino. This fact that she could hear them within her partner sometimes caused twinges of embarrassment but recently had decided it was not worth blushing about. Her ears twitching and swiveling towards him when her face had not caused him to notice.

"What is wrong?" They were walking past shops and empty apartments above, quiet and dead silent. It was rather cool and it wasn't really even that late; not much passed ten or so. No breeze could be detected, but the kunoichi could detect that his question was about more than just the obvious. She looked forward.

"Just noticing a little stir," she remarked. More subtlety to add to this new relationship, a relationship that was just founded on several promises: trust, loyalty, empathy. Like a caterpillar, fresh from his egg on his way in life. There may be no butterfly.

They said goodnight without saying anything, or expressing any hope of a good night's sleep.

Like clockwork, they met every day. They continued to train, with more force now with the reminder of the Exams looming over their heads. Nika slept poorly, haunted by thoughts of stupid killer dolls flying out of a shadowy corner in her apartment screaming bloody murder. She was also troubled by the abrupt roller coaster ride her first true relationship was suffering. After calming down, she tried to act normal again but he was making it difficult. Something had changed and now there was no going back. Training had become mechanical, and cold. At one point, she was sure he had struck her chest during an exercise but then she realized he was meditating and had not come near. Was that a crack in her heart?

Troubled, Shino tried his best to focus his effort on succeeding to the Jounin level. The problems with Nika and her way of conducting himself he would put off until later. Right now, the priority was business. True, he admitted that this was not adhering to his golden rule. This is teamwork.

This is not teamwork.

But a raise to Jounin level would mean higher class missions, more respect and approval from the Aburame Clan who had caught wind of his affections. While not disapproving, the general consensus was that it was an odd match, odd indeed. He also wanted to start saving for a house. A house for him, and Nika. Always the strategist, always planning ahead. He did not want to dip into the family's treasury; he wanted to earn for himself his own house. He _must_ succeed; his father had already had a house and a fiancée waiting for him by his age. His grandfather had done the same, and so on. He could not tolerate this failure to follow what was proven to be the best way according to the family. The priority now was business, business that would be for Nika, and for him.

Naturally of course, Shino is still man enough to fall into that male stereotype of not telling his mate anything, and Aburame enough to feel that why should he bother? All should understand what is not said.

Nika had become quite good at reading her companion through the years, but now somehow there was a metaphorical wall, mocking her. She suddenly felt him slipping away, and became afraid. Afraid that those television shows of a husband becoming disinterested in his wife are true, although of course they were not yet married.

_Yet?_ She was startled one evening, reclining on her mound of pillows after a long and brutal day of torture to realize that deep inside she had expected marriage. What was wrong? Why had it gone so right and then so wrong? She had only just accepted herself and her feelings which she was brought up believing could not be. She had only just allowed her real self to surface. What if he decided he couldn't take it?

As she watched a very old and miniature sized television set, her heart began to beat fast. What if he considers my behavior before a **lie**? She had always not shown people that she in fact did enjoy feminine things, that she did feel fear and pain, and that there was a human behind these markings and lioness ears! It was a matter of habit, really. As a young cub she could not settle in one place, no one would keep or accept her. Why bother revealing such things?

Days of these two idiots gnawing at their stressful thoughts drove them both to the edge. These thoughts, fears, worries and determinations all wrapped in a blanket of suffocating distance was thrown out of the window, blanket and all till the pieces crashed into the street below. The disharmony became unbearable; the TV in Nika's apartment was rudely turned off and exclaimed to be a nuisance.

"Oh, I suppose that everything of mine is a nuisance!"

Stunned silence from Shino's end. Nika took a deep breath and exhaled loudly, eyes suddenly bitingly wet. There really could be no arguments with Shino, unless one enjoyed arguing with themselves. Everything spilled from her mouth then, emotions and tears and utter confusion. She was angry! Angry that he had not kept to his word. Shino, who had not expected such an outburst from her, was silent. Everything was going against the grain and all on the night before the Jounin Exams. He calmly explained that she was experiencing backlash from the stress of the exams tomorrow.

"Oh, shut up about those stupid exams! You'll get it, and you know it!" This snapped some reserve in the Aburame, and he abruptly stood up to leave. He explained in a very deep, icy tone that her behavior was unacceptable and he was not going to tolerate it. His jet black brows furrowed beneath the trim of his olive hoodie, dim electric lights flickering shadows across the band of skin visible on his face.

"If you want to leave, then go ahead," and her bedroom door snapped shut with such finality that it echoed through her dreams. He left no word, no note to explain that he would come when she was calmed down. Or to wish her luck for tomorrow. There was nothing. He walked home and uncharacteristically almost tripped three times. Each time he felt like some being above was trying to zap some message into his brain, but kept missing and hitting his legs instead. He did not cry.

Nika did. More so than at any other time in her life.

**Narro: **Ahem, well that was quite…angsty. Yes, more so than you're used to but oh well. That's how it's gonna be. I promise not all the time but you gotta have some realism about relationships right?

**Kyouya:** And how many have _you_-

**Narro: **READ AND REVIEW! Oh, and don't steal my OC's…and I don't own anything.


	9. Chapter 9

Narro: Here I am again. I felt like re reading chapter eight, and it's spurred me on to trying chapter nine!

Kyouya: Need I remind you, Madam, that you have a few other fan fictions which require attention?

Narro: I know that, but since the others in question require knowledge of Naruto, this is considered…er, studying! Yeah, that's right! Please go on with the disclaimer, Kyouya-kun.

Kyouya: As you wish, Lady Silver Tongue. All characters, except for Narro's creations (Nika, her family, and others) belong to Kishimoto-sama. She does not claim to own them. Unnecessary Flamers will be forced to endure hours of "It's a Small World After All" which is owned by Disney, not Narro. Please remember the three R's: read, write and review!

"There should be a law against such beautiful mornings on such horrible days," Nakamura Yuka roared out. Birds, once dozing comfortably upon their perches, scattered in fright. The sun was still just peeking from beyond the horizon, and the forest was still dark and full of evening shadows. His daughter said nothing, and he did not expect her to. She had made sure her eyes were not puffy from hours of weeping, but he could hear the lump in her throat scratching around with every breath she took. She was so upset that she had not even yet asked why he was there, at the Jounin exams.

He put his large, calloused hand on her shoulder. Other Chuunin who had dared to attempt this test were arriving with one parent each as well. The ground was cool and slightly damp. The air was full of moisture, and brisk; easily brisk enough to see your own breath. The group had gathered around the Hokage, and for all of their bravery still looked like a passel of young children huddling around their teacher. Yuka's golden eyes sharpened, and sought out one particular body. Aburame, the one who had broken his daughter's heart. 'We Nakamura's always love too much,' he sighed to himself. She was a Nakamura, all right. The fires began to kindle within him as he looked upon his first born. Her darling ears were drooping, and she refused to look in Shino's direction…not that Shino was trying to attract hers either. In fact, he had made sure his body position did not suggest in any way that he wished her to approach. He stood, almost military stance, rigidly next to his father.

These actions caused Yuka to bristle with sheer indignant rage. An insult to one Nakamura is an insult to all! His lip curled slightly, showing a sharpened canine. Only the presence of his daughter's hand on his wrist stopped him from moving, as well as the glare coming from Hokage-sama. Tsunade had reasons for being angry at a bunch of stupid kids' love quarrels: she had placed bets on them.

Nika was using all the meditative power her Mito-ojisan had beaten into her as a child. Only by making herself see things in terms of energy could she calm down; after all, the one she didn't wish to speak to or look at had good, flowing energy which calmed her down. Her father's was currently bubbling, but that was a normal occurrence which she also used to center herself. Her face probably looked vacant, but that was how she felt and damn it she will express herself! Her clothing today was an expression as well: old gray tank top, her customary boys khaki shorts, and no shoes. Her metal Bo staff was strapped to her back, and her thin cotton jacket was wrapped around her hips. For the comforting color, she wrapped her sky blue bandana around her wrist. She was tugging at it now.

"Is this all that dare to try to ascend?" barked Tsunade, the Hokage. More tugging from Nika. She looked around at only a hand full of faces. They looked at her, half sleepy and half apprehensive. The parents, besides Aburame and Nakamura, looked rather amused. "Shizune, have everyone sign in onto the clipboard and divide them as I have instructed," Tsunade crossed her arms.

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" Shizune handed every Chuunin a clipboard to add their signature next to their parent/guardian's. Signing in was Shino, Nika, Shikamaru, Naruto (whose guardian was Iruka), Kiba, Hinata, Neji and Lee. They gathered around the Hokage in a circle, waiting for this division. The Jounin trials were kept so secret that only Jounins and the Hokage knew how they were conducted. Even Chuunins were not allowed to know, otherwise they would be able to prepare. Each of the youngsters recalled just how terribly the first Chuunin exams had been; it had been so terrible that they flew through the exam the second time. The second time there were no Uchihas or pale, snake like men to bother them.

"You have all just signed a waver stating that your death is not my responsibility, as you have all willingly agreed to this test," Hokage glanced coldly at the clipboard. Everyone immediately became serious. They had all faced death before, but it was no laughing matter. "Each of you must spar with the person who is most like you, your parent," Tsunade eyed Iruka and Kurenai, "…or guardian," she hastily added. Nika looked up at her father in surprise, no longer concentrating on energy. He shrugged at her apologetically. "This is the challenge for becoming a Jounin; in order to become a full fledged shinobi, you must overcome yourself!" The Hokage continued, "Because I have decided that a battle between Gai-sensei and Lee would take all day, they will be the last contestants." Lee's face fell upon learning of his wait, but Gai smiled his typical smile and shouted loudly at the top of his lungs something about the best for last. "Inuzuka Kiba and Inuzuka Tsume are first, no holding back!"

The dog like shinobi looked at each other cockily. They moved into position in a clearing outside a ring of trees some yards away from the large group. They were given the signal and they had at it. Nika did not bother watching. There was something sickening about being pitted against one's own family, despite the fact that Kiba was probably trained by his mother and therefore used to it. Instead she leaned against a broad tree trunk and slid down to sit dejectedly. Her father stood next to her, arms crossing in a clear message of protection. This gave Nika an opportunity to study her father, for lack of anything more constructive to do. He was nearly six feet tall, broad about the shoulders and chest, but narrowing through the hips. She had inherited his sharp, golden eyes and crimson markings, although her markings rimmed her lower lids and his formed an arrow pointing to the bridge of his nose. His hair was a deep brunette, pulled into a long ponytail atop the back of his head. His thick bangs were random, and framed his stubbly face. His skin was tanned darker than hers, but still had a slight tawny hue about it. His left ear was pierced with a simple golden loop. He wore no hitai-ate because the Plains Country was only allied with Konoha, not a part of it. It also had no ninja to speak of, only warriors pledged to his household and land. He wore a simple gray t shirt and the almost pants but sort of shorts typical of Konoha, in black and belted, with matching zori.

Hinata came near her tree, and her father relaxed to show she was welcome. She squatted down next to Nika and tried to smile reassuringly.

"You're going to do well, Nika-kun," she offered. Nika looked up at her and smiled.

"Yes, I'll do well," she echoed. And it occurred to her then that yes, she should do well. Who was he to bother her when she was about to take the most important test of her life? Who was Aburame Shino to screw with her emotions now? Well, screw him she was going to ace this test! Nika looked over at Kurenai. "You aren't fighting your father?" Hinata looked to the side, from habit of shyer times.

"Um, since Neji is also testing, father thought it would be better if he paired with Neji. So I asked Kurenai-sensei," she admitted. Nika frowned. Hyuuga-sama was certainly seeing his daughter as stronger than he used to, but he still had a while to go before he understood Hinata's true potential. She felt her body start to feel more normal after starting to chat quietly with Hinata. The boys on the other hand….

"MOVE FASTER, KIBA!"

"Ouch…"

"This fight looks so stupid…I mean, troublesome,"

"You're going to let your MOM kick you there?"

The only women rolled their eyes at the boys' enthusiasm for watching Tsume kick Kiba's ass. Shino was just standing, still as a statue, next to his father to observe his friend's humiliating defeat. Kiba had to be carried away by Shizune and Iruka within half an hour of sparring with his mother. Although Kiba is a skilled fighter, he could not compete with his mother's extensive knowledge of his own attacks and fighting style. Also, she had more dogs at her disposal. Kiba still only retained Akamaru. Each Chuunin then became extremely nervous. This included Iruka-sensei. Jiraiya was not allowed to be Naruto's guardian, because he was far stronger than an ordinary Jounin and therefore would not be fair. Nika suspected that Naruto would actually ascend to Jounin, simply because he had far advanced lruka already.

While Shizune and Tsunade checked a very sheepish half conscious Kiba, Tsunade ordered the Aburame clan onto the battle field. Never before had there been such an empty energy between two opponents. Each was busy planning strategies that would be several steps ahead of the other. Unfortunately, because they were both doing this they had difficulty settling on a starting point. Shino counted on his father using his kikaichu right away, and Shibi counted on his son using evasive tactics first. However, neither started that way and so it now all depended on who could adapt to the new situation. The problem is that they use such similar techniques, with very little variation in execution. Nika ruefully watched the beginning before laying her head against the bark to doze. She could tell already that Shino would not win. He had practiced how to fight others, not himself. How does one defeat them self? They must go out of the box, and Shino has never been an out of the box kind of guy. Shibi's older and well established talent with kikaichu will triumph his son's relative inexperience in comparison. Also, Shibi was more comfortable with breaking the Aburame revere.

There were no shouts from the other boys like with Kiba for the Aburame fight.

Shino used his kikaichu to form a barrier around him, his Bug Jar jutsu. Besides using his kikaichu to suck the chakra out of a body, the bug jar was his most powerful attack he had. Shino expected his father to attempt to break through, or attempt to use his own kikaichu to form his own Bug Jar and spar the two whirlwinds of insects. If he does that, Shino had a string full of exploding tags waiting for his father's arrival. He had planned three steps ahead of his father, or so he thought. His father knew his son very well. Suddenly Shibi was not where he was standing before. Kikaichu tumbled from the humanoid form they had assumed and scattered. Shino became alarmed and sent his insects emergency messages: let nothing else into the barrier!

Tsunade watched in interest as the bug users sparred. She had expected Kiba to not get so far: he was like Naruto, in that they both were purely physical fighters and thus were subject to limitations. Their parents understood how they fought and were more experienced. The Aburame clan on the other hand, were strategists. How much had Shino's skills in strategy grown? Were they enough to trump his father, who was more experienced with the kikaichu?

Shino's insects began convulsing, pulsing oddly as they flew rapidly around him in a circle. He sent more chemical messages asking for status report, but he received mixed messages in reply. Why was this? He was not sick; they could not be infected-oh!

Posing as Shino's kikaichu using chemical pheromones which resembled Shino's insects, Shibi had infiltrated Shino's defensive wall. They swarmed upon him too quickly to call his to defend him. His kikaichu raced to catch up, leaving holes in the Bug Jar. Shino's zori scraped against the dirt harshly as he tried to duck his father's blow. He succeeded, but his father simply used his momentum to do a three sixty degree whirl, bringing his leg down upon his son's back. Shino landed flat onto the ground with a grunt. His father stood above his son, both sets of insects swarming angrily.

The sky had lightened significantly, throwing shadows in the tree line where the rest of the group assembled. Shino rolled over quickly and got up, ignoring the irritable feel of dust. His back ached, and he was embarrassingly sure that there was a dusty footprint square in the middle of his jacket. Suddenly Shibi was in his face and striking at him with an open palm. His body was heavier than Shino's, but he moved much quicker. Shibi was not afraid to intrude upon his son's personal space either. The uncomfortableness of his father being so close caused Shino to switch to merely defensive movements. Shibi decided to borrow a move from Nika; so he grabbed his son's forearm which was held up as a shield, and threw his son halfway across the field. 'Figured Nika would have been stricter in teaching him hand to hand,' Shibi mused to himself in mild amusement.

Shino rolled into the dirt again, little bits of dewy grass flecking his jacket. He felt utterly humiliated and ridiculous. He had trained religiously and for what, his father to beat him senseless like a child? As soon as Hokage-sama had instructed them to spar their parents, Shino knew that he may not graduate today. He was well aware of how much better Shibi was with communicating with the Kikaichu, and this was something that could not be helped. Practice always makes perfect, after all.

He got up quickly, and centered himself in time to block another of his father's heavy blows. He had not realized how strong his father was. Their training together was limited to chakra, meditation and insect lessons. He told his Kikaichu to throw themselves against his father's middle, in order to gain an opening to strike at Shibi's head.

Shibi disintegrated into a thousand little insects again, and so did Shino. Upon re emerging again on opposite sides of the open field, Shino became wobbly. He berated himself—why hadn't he thought of this?

The sun was directly parallel with the battle ground, illuminating the watching faces. The adults' faces showed interest. Only Hyuuga-sama knew how Shino had come to be poisoned.

"Hm, Shibi hasn't lost his touch," he remarked quietly. Tsume looked at the Hyuuga from the corner of her eye and smirked. Her son lay near her feet, half conscious and looking like one of his mother's dogs had mistaken him for a chew toy (one had).

"Of course you saw it, Hyuuga. Please enlighten us with more ordinary eyes," she asked. Everyone looked over in interest. Saw what?

"Aburame-san has poisoned his son," Hiashi looked toward the faltering Aburame.

"Oh, I didn't even see him do it!" exclaimed Lee.

"When he used his heel to slam his son onto the ground, I saw a metallic glint protruding from his zori," as Hiashi said this, Shibi reached down and plucked a small needle from the heel of his zori delicately. His son still was standing, but leaning heavily off to one side. His sides heaved as this unfamiliar poison coursed through his body. His kikaichu were fairly frantic, skittering around trying to obtain small droplets in order to form an antidote.

"You have not progressed far enough in teaching your kikaichu to produce toxins. Instead, you have focused your work on treating them. Although this is good enough for defense, you have no thought to tactical offense through the products which your kikaichu can create," lectured Shibi gravely. Shino had to admit this fault, and it burned his pride terribly. And to make matters worse, his future wife was watching his failure.

Nika was not quite watching, but her ears were far too sensitive to ignore this rebuke. She still was curled up against the tree trunk, enjoying the sandpaper like feel of its bark against her cheek. She could feel in her heart the pain Shino was feeling, the stinging shame needling the edges of his pride. He would pass out before he would fall to his father in such a way, and Nika did not blame him, for she would do the same. Few things are more humiliating than losing to one's parent like a disobedient child at their age. While she reserved her judgment of Shino's spar, her father felt it was necessary to let out a disproving grunt.

"Well, there you go. The insignificant insect is done for. Just as well then, eh Nika?" She ignored her father's jab.

Shibi tried not to stare at his son while he struggled to stand, sweat falling along his skin and his breathing sounded harsh. He had purposefully given him a larger dose in order to allow his son to build up immunity to it, which his kikaichu will orchestrate when they are more able. He understood that his son, although not red in the face, was utterly put down by his failure. Instead, Shibi turned his head to the side to examine Nika. She also was desolate; she was plastered to the nearest shade giving tree avoiding eye contact. His son had come home in such a mood last night. Never before had Shino been a wall of absolute fury, and his reluctance to explain caused Chouko to go into a nervous panic. Shibi had calmed her, explained that it was probably a lover's tiff and not to get involved; they will sort themselves out.

Well, he hoped they would. He had tried not to put pressure upon his son, but Shino had adopted it anyway. Shino would follow the pattern their ancestors had created, whether Shibi liked it or not.

Nika's head bowed when she heard the thump of Shino's body hitting the dirt.

Shibi helped carry his son to the tree line. He immediately began injecting a little of the antidote. Looking Shino over, Tsunade-sama decided he would not die anytime soon with his father's knowing care, and so decided to announce the next contestants.

"So far there has been no one to pass!" she scolded, "Hopefully the Nakamura family will prove to be sturdier!" Nika raised herself up, almost reluctantly and loped to the open field with her father. By now the morning sun was golden, and illuminated the features of the Lion Clan. Their golden ore eyes shone with energy. The forest was no longer damp with dew, the greenery was muddled now. The globe of the sky was a brilliant blue.

"Ha! We shall see, Hokage-sama! My prodigy will most certainly attain the youthful position of Jounin!" Gai jeered from the tree line. Yuka harrumphed and proceeded to argue with Gai sense from the middle of the field, angrily snorting that his daughter was quite capable of handing his ass to him on a silver platter!

Nika's temper flared. She felt a cloud of fire rush up towards her throat from within her chest. Her father had not always loved her so openly. Her parents had abandoned her when she was merely a cub…thrown into the woods like some rejected monster. They left her to die in the woods, left her to rot into the ground and just disappear. All of those years of loneliness and of not belonging had been caused by his stupidity and weakness! He had been the most difficult to convince that he was in fact her father. Now he was boasting over her like everything was okay! Why are men so difficult?

Her memories flashed to her old den, days of walking on lonely roads and being beaten in towns because of her strange ears and markings. A mere child surviving alone on wits and strength from her shinobi prowess… Why did they hate her? What did a child do to earn such abandonment?

The sun seemed to be burning her ears. She discovered that she had become red hot all over, and was suddenly trembling. She wanted to put this man's face into the ground, grind it into the dirt and spit on his back.

Yuka suddenly looked alarmed at his daughter's change of demeanor. His eyes widened, and reflexively he took a defensive position. He turned his body to the side, and held up his upper arm in an arc near his chest, close enough to quickly block blows to his face and stomach.

"Begin!"

Nika flew at her father, almost running on all fours. Yuka drove both of his arms at her, and she rolled to his side. She swiped at his exposed side and drew first blood. She was suddenly driven into the ground by her father's fist. A stream of blood ran into her eye and now she literally saw red.

Shibi watched with his son in astonishment as the two began to bloody the field. They were actually fairly evenly matched it appeared, and there was no certainty that Yuka would win. By now Shino was able to sit up and watch, although breathing was difficult. He saw from his shady seat the unbridled intensity with which Nika fought, knew that she was enraged, and finally taking her pain out on its bringer.

As she disappeared in a cloud of smoke and reappeared secretly up in the shadows of the trees, Nika began to calculate. Yuka was a brawler like she was. She felt better after landing a few hits and her mind was now clear. She still felt her blood boiling, but she knew that answers would have to wait. Her goal today was to accomplish two things at once: forcibly retrieve answers about her abandonment from her father, and achieve the title of Jounin. Every time she had tried to ask her father for answers before, he had deftly distracted her.

Alright, she had already wounded him and was in turn beaten down. He was not an officially trained shinobi, and she was. She pulled out her arsenal of kunai and shuriken and began planning. She spun a kunai around her fingers while she thought, ignoring the blood slipping down the side of her face, breathing slowing down to a calm inhale-exhale. Her father pulled out his sai from seemingly out of nowhere. She threw a flurry of shuriken at him and popped out of sight again. She did this again from another location, and then again. A sting of pain on her calf confirmed her father had worked out her simple pattern. She drew her own shuriken from her calf and threw it back in disgust. She needed to be faster. Yuka was slower than she was, but he still had more experience with hunting, and she was prey. She formed a hand seal and revved up her wind element.

Yuka was thrown backwards as her large gusts hit him square in the chest. He righted himself and blocked her staff from connecting with his head again. Her method of fighting, with or without weapons was full of whirls, spins, rolls, leaps and bounds to keep out of danger and to neutralize attacks. He was a melee of thick and heavy limbs that came crashing down and around. Their weapons caught in a dead lock, clinging and clanging together. They were nearly touching heads, both sets of teeth bared and growling.

"This would be the time to be answering my questions, father,"

"What on earth, cub!"

"You know what I ask! Answer your daughter!" A strong surge of energy came from her feet and she shoved her father out of the lock. He half hazardly landed on his legs, forming hand seals as he went down. For a moment, she was enveloped in a cloud of searing hot flames. She rolled away, beating her clothes to keep the flames from catching. She was slightly singed, but her half wind half fire elemental affinity had kept her from much damage. She angrily threw her staff at her father without thinking. He caught it and threw it away, panting from the effort to keep his body cool. If he over heated, he could faint and forfeit. Nika no longer wanted to talk, and instead flung herself at her father's middle, clawing and snarling furiously. All thought of strategy and decorum fell away. Hot, salty tears beaded at the corners of her eyes, but she would not cry out. Yuka tried to keep her away from his vital spots, but maintained a severe hit upon his thigh.

Shino watched from the sidelines. The adults looked on with acute interest at the proceedings. They were surprised at how evenly match the pair were, although it should not have been surprising considering that although Yuka was as strong as an ordinary Jounin, he had never been trained. Plus, Nika appeared to be on an adrenaline and emotional high that Yuka could only respond to. Shino's breathing had become less ragged, and he was able to make out that Nika was crying as she was trying to rip her father into pieces. His anger at her suddenly lessened, a weight slid from his shoulders and instead seemed to feel as if it were leaning on him instead of weighing him down. There was no reason why Nika should behave the way he expected her to if she had such hurt within her, a hurt stemmed from the people who should have loved her more than he, Aburame Shino, could ever have admitted to.

Shibi sensed a change in energy from his son. He looked down at him and gave him a rare, encouraging smile. His son had realized something, and perhaps from this realization an apology could be made. But, Shibi looked at the battlefield again and became worried. Nika would have to have time to heal from the wounds of long ago before she could find some way to take Shino back. Currently, beating others to a pulp was not adequate therapy.

Yuka was not allowing his daughter to beat him to a pulp without a fight, either. He was reciprocating each and every blow to his body with one to hers. He loved his daughter, but this was a spar to prove her worth and he was going to make her earn it. They both looked like they had stepped from a full out battle between armies: their clothing dirty, sweaty, bloody, ripped, but their eyes burned like furnaces. Yuka finally had enough of this onslaught and threw her against a tree trunk. She slid down, but landed on her feet dazed. Yuka took this opportunity to pull one of the two most powerful weapons in his arsenal, the secret jutsu of the Nakamura clan. His hand formed the old seals of the Secret Nakamura Jutsu: Beast Within!

Nika barely had time to register the poof of a cloud before an enormous brown paw came swiping down at her head. She moved to the left but not quickly enough, and a claw caught her arm. The Chuunin all looked on, stunned at the sudden transformation. Where Yuka once stood, now stands a humongous nine foot, fire breathing lion! Yuka's lion form shared characteristics with his human form: dark coffee hair, golden eyes, crimson eye markings and an impressively long mane. His muzzle was wide and full of glistening fangs. He retained his injuries from his human form, so blood now matted his beautiful coat and mane. His every breath seemed to cause the ground to rumble beneath the spectators' zori. The Aburame men had seen this transformation before, but Nika's form was significantly smaller than her father's!

Nika looked over her shoulder in shock. She too had never seen her father in this form and it was daunting. He towered over her, hoping to intimidate her into giving up. He opened his red mouth and gave out roar that popped Nika's sensitive ears.

Nika's energy reserves were almost gone: she should not have had an argument with Shino yesterday—they are so draining. She normally would have been able to go on for a lot longer, but now she had to resort to the same move as her father.

Yuka looked on in surprise as his daughter mimicked his hand seals. His cub became a bloody and torn up excuse for a lioness, almost half his current size. Another gasp from the side lines.

Nika felt desperation within her furred chest now. She felt as if her chance to defeat her father, and "win" her answers was slipping away. His chakra was holding steady, and she could feel hers flickering as she struggled to maintain a balance on four paws. Her vision blurred as more blood from her head wound ran from her ear into her eyes…no! She must win this!

Yuka's claws dug into the soil as she flung herself at him, tearing at his face. His throat, shoulders, and chest were protected by his thick mane. She leapt away as he tried to grab and hold her between his two front paws. She rebounded off of the nearest tree and leaped onto his back. She sunk her fangs into his back and locked her jaws. Yuka screamed and fell backwards against the line of trees, slamming Nika's back into the bark. Yuka's weight easily broke the trees like twigs, pinning his daughter between the harsh wood and branches and his own weight. The pressure upon her spine and chest created explosions of pain and Nika let go in an effort to gasp in some air. Yuka quickly formulated a plan that would finally end this nightmare. He leaped away from the wooded rubble and let go of his Leonean transformation, saving chakra.

A poof from within the shattered tree trunks confirmed that Nika had released the jutsu as well, more out of necessity than as strategy.

"Nika! Prepare yourself for the end!" Yuka shouted dramatically. He breathed in deeply, ignoring the leaking, aching wounds on his thigh and back, focusing all of his chakra on the last of his "last chance" techniques. His plan was to ultimately intimidate and wear out Nika, forcing her to dodge and possibly glance a hit and remain down on the ground for the count. He formed his combination of hand seals, causing sparks within his throat. He breathed out, expelling carbon dioxide which caught the sparks and erupted into a flaming stream of fire from between his teeth. He pulled up a gust of wind and threw the fire into the wind. The extra oxygen fueled the fire further, using his hands to spin the wind into a tornado that grew and grew.

Nika crawled up from beneath the splintering remnants of the trees she had smashed into. She had heard her father's foolish shout, but currently daggers of pain were capturing her attention instead. A searing hot burst of air suddenly slammed into the side of her face, making her spin around in alarm. The sun was not heating the woods quite so well, but all of the birds and other animals in the woods had suddenly stopped making noise. Her vision was filled with a giant tornado, a massive tower of flaming fire rapidly spinning her way. It was no wonder the birds were not chirping, for all Nika's ears could hear was its hungry roar bursting in her ears. She realized she had nowhere to run because it was suddenly in front of her. She could hear Yuka's boasts suddenly turn into screams as she buried her head between her arms, knowing she could not leap away from its massive, spinning, and grabbing girth. All thoughts of anything flew out of her head, as if knocked back to Kansas. She was picked up like a twig in a windstorm and tossed, clothes and skin scorching red hot. The ground was beneath her one second, and then upside down the next as she was flipped and whipped around like a rag doll. Yuka abruptly came to his senses and released his hand seal. The tornado disintegrated and Nika's body plummeted to the dirt with a thud.

The spectator's eyes widened at the sight of Nika's body: unmoving, limp, and smoking. Blurs flew across the field as both Yuka and the Hokage sped toward the chuunin's body. Yuka reached her first. Hot, salty wells of tears stung his eyes as he continued to scream at his daughter.

"NIKA! Why didn't you dodge! You could have dodged it, you could have dodged it, you could-"Tsunade's fist shoved Yuka aside. She quickly examined the kunoichi and began to use her healing jutsu. The Hokage layered her hands on top of each other, and a blue green light began to spread throughout the patient's body. Nika's chest heaved as she took a rasping breath, and then quickly went limp again. Tsunade checked to make sure she was breathing without trouble and ordered the loser into the shade. Daichi, Yuka's second in command, popped into view abruptly and lifted his mistress. Yuka limped after him, eyes wild and unreasonable.

Tsunade began her speech again, naming Nika a failure, and that it was Hyuuga Neji's turn to prove his worth! The new contestants looked over their shoulders at Nika for a moment before taking their places on the battlefield. Tsunade's gold eyes blazed in Nika's direction. She was not sure if the kunoichi would fail or not, but the determination in Yuka's steps as he hobbled toward her made her think that she may not win that little bet about Nika and Shino…

Now that the sun was no longer stabbing at her weakened eye sight, Nika could make out shadows hovering above her. She squinted and the green of the canopy of leaves became less fuzzy. Never had she felt so weak and unable to move. Her every breath brought up smoke, ash, and blood. She could not feel her velvety ears, or move her toes. The grass and dirty beneath her charred body poked and scratched at her skin mercilessly. But most of all, she just wanted to curl up under a rock and sleep away everything that had happened in the last twenty four hours. Her very bones were turning to dust, her lungs had poofed out of existence, and her eyes were dried up raisins with no hope of squeezing out another salty, irritating tear for the corner of her eyes.

She heard arguing, and the sound of the Hyuuga's purely physical fighting. She didn't much care right now; she tried to wiggle her ears and almost froze at the sound of fur cracking. Perhaps movement was not advisable.

"Nika-kun, are you okay?" Hinata's voice was a whisper, almost as if she were afraid to break her friend with her quiet voice. The midnight blue haired kunoichi was squatting next to Nika, arms wrapped around her bare knees. Nika opened one eye to a slit, winked it once, and closed it again so only the crimson streak of her eye markers was visible. Hinata's brows creased in worry, and suddenly she did not feel so great about her chances today. No one had yet passed. Also, the vibe between her friend and her old team mate Shino was…well, when Hinata glanced at him he was having a hard time restraining himself from coming over to Nika's side.

In truth, Hinata had to muster up some courage to make her way over here also. Nika's body guard was a massive, scarred up warrior who stood like a rock, with his arms crossed mere inches from Nika's body. Daichi's eyes were blackened, wild and stern. His cobalt spiked hair stood on end as if it had been he who had suffered a shock. However, he had nodded to her when she approached, but was currently emanating a stay-away-bug-boy shield.

"Daichi! Let's go home," growled Yuka, now leaning on a handy tree branch which he had ripped from a very sturdy tree right in front of Shino. Of course Shino had ignored this obvious threat to his own limbs and very slowly followed in Nika's general direction. Shibi had allowed this, pretending to be interested in the Hyuuga battle. The forest suddenly felt much warmer, despite being heavily shaded. Furred bodies moved silently forward from the shadowy trees, with glowing golden eyes.

Hinata covered her mouth, suppressing a gasp. Giant lions moved like phantoms to surround her, Daichi, Yuka and Nika. Tsunade-sama watched with a piercing stare for a moment, and then, sighing, turned to watch the Hyuuga battle. Yuka watched this, and turned to mount on top of Hideyoshi who appeared at his side. Yuka winced, his wounds began to bleed profusely again.

Daichi scooped up Nika carefully and swung her atop of CHAKRA, who helpfully kneeled to let his surrogate mother up easily. Daichi easily climbed aboard behind her, wrapping his forearm around her middle to hold her steady. Yuka waited impatiently.

"Let's go!" he roared, and wheeled Hideyoshi around, letting the large pride of lions lead the way to the Nakamura village. CHAKRA turned to follow, ignoring Daichi's directions and chuffing in annoyance at the extra weight of the warrior.

"Wait…Hinata, come here please," Nika's voice was a hoarse whisper, but she knew that her friend would hear her. Her hand weakly attempted to dig into her cargo pocket.

"Eh, what do you need Nika-kun?" Hinata's dark eyes looked up at the mess that was her friend. Daichi excused himself and stuck his hand into the pocket himself, pulling out a key. Nika's back leaned against Daichi's broad chest, her head laying on her shoulder.

"Take this key…will you water my plants…and check on the place sometimes? I don't know when…" she trailed, her voice cracking. She felt like a rag doll dragged through muddy, autumn puddles, what with the pieces of dirt, grass and twigs stuck in her damp hair. Her skin felt like it was covered in layers of dust and caked blood and slopped with damp soil. She could not muster enough saliva to spit. Her ears were crispy. She could not feel her toes, nor CHAKRA's coarse fur on her calves.

Daichi reached down and placed the metallic object into Hinata's waiting palm.

"O-of course, Nika-kun! Please rest and get better," Hinata's voice was sincere. She held the key between her two hands, feeling the sadness and echoing argument it must have witnessed. She turned her head to look at her friend, teammate, and comrade: Shino.

Although she could not see his eyes, she felt that his eyes were laser beamed to the back of Daichi's head, who coolly ignored him. Daichi urged CHAKRA to catch up to the rest who waited within the trees, resulting in a sudden energetic roar from the gigantic feline. Daichi tightened his grip on his mistress, and off they sped, creating dust clouds that shrouded Nika's only friend left in Konoha.

"Please come back soon!" Hinata screamed, shocked at her own loudness. Hinata did not know that at the same time she screamed her demand at her friend, Shino had made a very similar request at the same time…omitting the "soon." Hinata turned around and found Shino right behind her, and clutching at his dusky jacket, heaving. His knees started to buckle, so she grabbed his elbow to help support her dear, confused and obviously forlorn, friend. 'Did he try to run after her…?' Hinata wondered.

Nika heard shouting, but was too busy feeling sorry for herself to make much note of it right now. Daichi leaned down, avoiding a tree branch that CHAKRA carelessly forgot about, knowing that Nika was nowhere near tall enough to be in danger.

"You will feel much better when we get home, Nika-sama," Daichi assured in her ear. She could picture the grand house and it's grand grounds and fields.

'Home…what is home anymore?'

Narro: OMG, this chapter is loooooong….but I'm glad I finally made it to this point. This point of the story to me is almost sacred; I've been planning this for a very long time, along with the next chapter. I'm so glad that this one is finally done. I've been working on it for a few months during times when I've had a little bit of free time (and when my muse decides to get off of her coffee break!).

Kyouya: Yes, of course. Perhaps you should remind your readers of why we are addressing them at the end of this very long chapter, Madam?

Narro: You're a harass Kyouya-kun. Please read, rate and review, people! Hope you've enjoyed** it!**


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